Make love, not war

As of lately, North Korea has been in the media spotlight. Certainly not for good reasons, but it's hard to tell what the situation is nowadays.

North Korea has a history of issuing threats of attack towards other countries. None have been followed through, no total destruction of any nations. So it's kind of become a "boy cries wolf" situation with North Korea. But this time is a little different.

On February 12th, North Korea performed its third nuclear test, despite U.N. resolutions forbidding them. And they are planning a test of a long range rocket that is potentially capable of carrying nuclear weapons in mid-April. With their recent rocket testing as well, these rockets have the potential to reach as far as Ottawa, Canada to Madrid, Spain. North Korea would have no problem successfully launching rockets into any part of South Korea. No rocket of that ability has been successfully launched, though it has been tried numerous times.

So what does this mean for us in the good old United States of America? It's hard to say. First we have to determine whether this is legitimate, or if it's simply another empty threat. March 7th, 2013, North Korea issued a threat saying, "Since the United States is about to ignite a nuclear war, we will be exercising our right to preemptive nuclear attack against the headquarters of the aggressor in order to protect our supreme interest," And while it's a little difficult to get the tone correct through translation, it seems as if North Korea is ready and willing to retaliate any aggressive actions. 

But no one really knows. There's a lot of speculation. Some think that the threats come from North Korea's desire to gain a peace treaty with the U.S., feeling as if they cannot be equals during talks unless they also have a powerful army. This could also be a desperate cry for attention, as the North is currently suffering from an extreme food shortage. There are even reports of parents eating their own children after going mad from hunger. North Korea is in a difficult place right now. At some point, the people will get sick of being denied the basic necessities, and something will go down. 
 
One thing is for certain. If North Korea takes any aggressive actions toward any nation, be it South Korea, or the United States, countries will jump into action. The U.N. is even getting sick of the North's crap. For now, it's just a matter of the waiting game.