North Korea Cold War

1450 Words3 Pages

Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Thousands dead. Trembling, diplomats scampering for a solution. These events occurred due to the availability of nuclear weapons and the tension encapsulated within the world war. Recently, the world has seen itself in the “fire and fury” (Trump qtd. in Bierman) around the Korean Peninsula. Specifically, ever since the split of the eastern peninsula, North Korea has exhibited an increasingly isolationist policy. Most notably, the Kim Regime has demonstrated their aggression through missile tests. Although North Korea recently declared they will terminate their missile tests, it remains a rogue state on the verge of collapse. The central government's main goal still resides in obtaining nuclear missiles until, according …show more content…

Ratified in 1968, the treaty on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons (NPT) was constructed as a proactive measure to restrict nuclear proliferation (UNODA). Since its inception, 191 states joined the treaty, with only one receding it: North Korea, which left after refusing special investigations on their nuclear sites. However, shortly after retreating from the NPT, it looked to standardize relations with the United States, and so in 1994, the Agreed Framework was set. As stated by the accord, the US was supposed to aid its counterpart in the agreement with oil and assure Kim Jong-Un that he was safe from US nuclear weapons. On the other hand, the isolated state would remain part of the NPT and work towards denuclearization. Looking back, the United States kept their part of the deal, but its counterpart was discovered to still have been producing uranium. Afterwards, the agreement fell apart. Throughout years of failed agreements, the US and ROK have most recently been deploying THAAD, an anti-missile system designed and stationed to counter North Korean missiles and they have been met with a lot of resistance. Most notably, China has been a huge advocate of dismantling THAAD because its radar reaches far into China’s boundaries (Taylor). Paranoid, the PRC seems to believe that THAAD tracks Chinese missile capabilities to provide military data to the US. Even though the manufacturing superpower threatens restrictions …show more content…

Much needed, these systems provide a counter move to a possible North Korea preemptive strike. Firstly, THAAD intercepts missiles at their terminal phase of their flight, this phase is when the missile re-enters the earth’s atmosphere and prepares to strike, which is the most dangerous part of the projectile's path. Empirically, THAAD hails a 100 percent success rate. Moreover, the aforementioned battery includes a multilayered shield approach to defense as it intercepts short, medium, and longer range missiles (Klingner). Much like THAAD, PAC-3 provides an “integrated, overlapping defense” to deter missile threats to the host nation (Department of Defense). Together, these two systems are able to complement each other via battle management, early warning data, and situational awareness to create an engaging multifaceted missile mitigation mechanism. However, although these systems have both been proven exceptional in practical defense, their positioning lacks coverage of the capital city of South Korea, Seoul. Specifically, THAAD’s position in Seongju, 135 miles away from the capital, puts it out of place to defend it (Newman). So, in order to bolster the defense for South Korea’s hotspot in the case of a direct attack from North Korea, the US should employ the Iron

More about North Korea Cold War

Open Document