(NewsNation) — North Korea watchers are warning the situation on the Korean Peninsula is the most dangerous it’s been since the Korean War armistice and that leader Kim Jong Un appears to be preparing for war.
War rhetoric is a staple for Kim, but experts say he’s showing signs that could indicate he’s made a strategic decision to go to war against South Korea and the United States. They warned the traditional wisdom Kim will not engage in conflict because he knows his regime will be destroyed may not hold anymore.
Technically, the war between North and South Korea, started by Kim Jong Un’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung, never ended, but combat ceased after an armistice agreement was made in 1953.
North Korea tested record numbers of missiles in 2023 and launched a spy satellite, angering the U.S. The country claims one of the tests was for a nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting any location in America.
The North Korean leader pledged to launch three more spy satellites in 2024 and called for additional expansion of the country’s nuclear arsenal. U.S. satellites have detected modernization and expansion efforts at a facility that produces chemicals for use in missile fuel and nuclear weapons.
In a speech, Kim warned that a war on the peninsula could break out “at any time” and accused the U.S. and South Korea of making “reckless moves” in preparation for an “invasion.”
North Korea has also increased ties with Russia and is aware the U.S. is preoccupied with both domestic and foreign concerns, including the 2024 election and wars in Ukraine and Israel.
Longstanding wisdom suggests deterrence from the alliance between South Korea, Japan and the U.S. is enough to keep Pyongyang in check. If that proves to be incorrect, the consequences could be devastating as the country has a significant nuclear arsenal with weapons that can reach all of Japan, South Korea, and Guam, with Kim claiming the country could also strike the U.S. mainland.
The country also possesses a large arsenal of traditional weapons as well as chemical and biological ones, including anthrax, smallpox, sarin nerve gas and mustard gas. If the war were to involve ground fighting, it would require massive amounts of U.S. troops, and some experts believe North Korea would be likely to use nuclear weapons in the initial phase of a conflict.
In increasing signs of potential conflict, North Korea officially abandoned its goal of peaceful reunification with South Korea, instead suggesting the country is a hostile enemy that must be subjugated by any means necessary, and stopped operating a radio signal used to send coded messages to operatives in South Korea.