After years of conflict between North and South Korea, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has declared war on South Korea. The United States has also been threatened to be “dissolved” if they intervene in the conflict.
Tensions in North and South Korea have been on the rise since the failed attempt of a peace treaty in the early 1950s. Conflict has also risen as a result of recent nuclear tests carried out in North Korea.
The new threat includes North Korea targeting South Korea and U.S. mainland as well as islands including Hawaii and Guam. Un made a statement to the United States: “The time has come to settle accounts with U.S. imperialists.”
New South Korean president Park Geun-hye stated the country is “viewing the threat from North Korea in a serious manner” and that any violent acts toward the country will be quickly returned. The United States military has already sent a defense system to South Korea, known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System, which has the ability to fire missiles at approaching targets.
The U.S. is not the only country supporting South Korea at this time though. Russia and China have also called for peace, stating that they hope for the “relevant parties to work together to turn around the tense situation” and that they “exercise as much responsibility and restraint as possible.”
While the threat is being taken very seriously by the U.S. and South Korea, many believe North Korea doesn’t possess the power and technology to efficiently deliver the attack. An editor from Jane’s Defense Weekly, a magazine published weekly on military and corporate affairs, stated, “Unless there has been a miraculous turnaround among North Korea’s strategic forces, there is little to no chance that it could successfully land a missile on Guam, Hawaii or anywhere else outside the Korean Peninsula that U.S. forces may be stationed.”
