For North Korea to be able to survive, its nuclear weapons program and ballistic missile program are essential according to its leaders who strongly believe that the US and its allies would have attacked North Korea a long time ago to force regime change if it weren’t for its advanced ICBM and nuclear weapons, a believe shared by many people around the world including both political and military analysts.
The relations between the US and North Korea have been historically tense and hostile, as both countries have no formal diplomatic recognition of each other. The source of contention dates back to the 1950s during the Korean war in which both countries fought on different sides.
Since the armistice was signed, areas of contention have revolved around North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ICBM programs, missile tests, and human rights records where the US has imposed many sanctions against North Korea with the hope of either regime change or change of attitude which has not happened and many people around the world don’t think it will ever happen.
Although the region has experienced tensions between the two countries time and again for many years, they maintained contact to always de-escalate tensions instead of going to an all-out war that could turn into a nuclear war and affect the whole world.
Recently, after some years without testing an ICBM, North Korea announced a few days ago that it had tested a new ICBM some military analysts said would be able to reach US territory if launched. And then North Korea released a video showing president Kim Jong Un directing the test of its biggest ICBM to date.
The test seemed to have caught the US by surprise as it has put all its attention on Ukraine not expecting any trouble elsewhere except Taiwan some analysts in the US wrongly believed that China would attempt to take Taiwan back during Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine but has not happened.
After the test which was condemned by the US and its allies and US imposed more sanctions on North Korea, President Kim Jong Un of North Korea come out and said that his country would further develop a powerful strike means to reinforce national defense capabilities.
“Only when one is equipped with the formidable strike capabilities overwhelming military power that can’t be stopped by anyone, one can prevent a war and guarantee the security of the country and contain and put under control all threats and blackmails by imperialists”, Kim said.
Kim Jong Un who oversaw the launch of the new ICBM said that North Korea’s self-defense force can’t be bartered or be bought by anything and will hold firm without the slightest vacillation despite harsh trials and difficulties as he warned that North Korea will continue to build perfect and stronger strategic force.
The new ICBM tested recently is not actually a new type of ICBM but it’s new because it hasn’t been tested since 2017 when it was shown on parade and according to photos released, the missile tested was the Hwasong-17 ICBM.
North Korea together with Iran is among very few countries outside the UN security council that the US dares not to attack because of their military capabilities but also because those countries haven’t only been training for years to fight US forces but also their population is equally hostile to the US giving them advantages when facing the US.
Many analysts think that attacking one of them, either Iran or North Korea could end up causing world war III due to their capabilities and allies who are expected to come to their rescue in case of US invasion of one of the two countries which both have good relations with both China and Russia but Iran also has got different capable groups of militias in many countries like Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq that could cause havoc in the region.
