North Korea: A place everyone has heard about recently, but which very few people are able to locate. With recent nuclear tests and pressure rising, North Korea has launched ballistic missiles over the Japanese mainland multiple times, as well as trade threats with US President Donald Trump, who’s claimed to be able to severely punish the nation, and potentially even destroy it should the situation escalate. In light of these events, many have been left to wonder what the United States’ next step will be.
Starting with the basics: although the North Korean situation has gripped media outlets and political circles nationwide in recent weeks, the American populace in general seems to not have all of the information just right.
“North Korea is one of those island nations that’s in the South Pacific,” senior Sairam Radhakrishna said. A study by the New York Times showed that only 36% of Americans were able to find North Korea on a map. It also showed that those who were able to locate North Korea favored diplomatic and nonmilitary strategies more favorably than those who could not.
“I’m against whatever Trump wants to do,” junior Maya Drill said, citing President Trump’s threats of using military force and massive destruction to bring the nation to heel.
Diplomacy via working with North Korea’s allies (such as China) seems to be the method that most lawmakers can get behind. Strategies such as continued sanctions and trade embargoes have all been suggested as possible solutions.
Recently, UN sanctions have forced China to close North Korean owned businesses in China, essentially cutting off all foreign revenue for Pyongyang.
China being North Korea’s main trading partner makes Beijing essential to new sanctions on North Korea, and helping to keep the country in check. China has always been North Korea’s diplomatic protector, but in light of recent events, has gone along with the latest penalties with frustration towards Pyongyang.
On September 15, North Korea sent another missile over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, causing the United States to warn North Korea by reminding them that a military option is still on the table. This standoff between the two nations continues to change as countries start to take sides, and as North Korea continues to defy the World’s call for peace.
Not only is a world ending nuclear war on the horizon, but President Trump and Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of North Korea, are having a war of words. Some of these ‘Battles’ have brought back some pretty iconic words, and have started an unprecedented confabulation between two prominent world leaders.
In a speech at the UN, and just previously in a tweet, President Trump tried out his new nickname for the Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim“Rocket Man”. Many might recall this newfound nickname to be the title of one of
