The disturbing signs that North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong Un, may be preparing for war are too many to ignore.
It all began in November. Kim Jong Un claimed that his country successfully launched a spy satellite into space on Nov. 21 and any interference with its satellite would constitute a declaration of war. South Korea responded by launching its own spy satellite and partially suspending an agreement about military cooperation with North Korea. Kim retaliated by announcing he would withdraw from all measures “taken to prevent military conflict in all spheres, including ground, sea, and air.”
Since then, the hostile rhetoric and proactive actions by North Korea against South Korea have intensified. Kim told his subordinates at the end-of-year policy meeting that he needed to “make a decisive policy change” because “the two Koreas were belligerent states at war, not counterparts for reconciliation and unification.” He also warned that “it is fait accompli that a war can break out anytime on the Korean peninsula.”
Kim followed up his rhetoric with action. On Jan. 5, North Korea fired more than 200 artillery shells at South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island. The island, about two miles from the disputed maritime border in the Yellow Sea, is home to a South Korean military base. Fortunately, no one on the island was injured.
Following the shelling, Kim announced that his country would rewrite its constitution to label South Korea as its “No. 1 enemy,” and a peaceful reunification between the North and the South was no longer possible. Instead,
