Just Invade Them?

North Korea is a nation known for its aggressive pursuit of nuclear bombs, one party
totalitarian dictatorship and isolation from the international community. A nation that is one
of few nations which have survived while openly challenging the USA while also remaining
a communist state. A nation that despite western efforts to economically destroy it using
sanctions, has still managed to keep itself afloat and continue developing its nuclear
weapons. A nation whose very existence has made the geo-politics in the Sea of Japan one of
great interest. Yet, with the latest news and current global affairs, the chances of a western
backed coup or even a nuclear attack on the Hermit Kingdom have significantly increased
and are being considered by Western armed forces and officials. However, overthrowing the
Kim regime will not only be exceptionally difficult to pull off in terms of the sheer costs,
planning, surveillance, timing and luck involved but it will also disturb the fragile
geopolitical balance in the region.

The less informed regarding the geopolitical situation will throw around the ‘nuclear’ word.
But the question that arises is what countries are willing to do this? Currently, according to
nuclear weapons Worldwide | Union of Concerned Scientists, “Nine countries possess
nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, France, China, the United Kingdom, Pakistan,
India, Israel, and North Korea.” According to DPRK Diplomatic Relations, Pakistan,
China, India, Russia and United Kingdom have foreign embassies in Pyongyang, North
Korea’s capital city, which suggests they have some sort of relations with The Hermit
Kingdom, making them unlikely to strike first. This is especially true for Pakistan, China and
Russia as they are considered allies by Pyongyang.This leaves the USA as the sole nation
capable of taking the initiative to North Korea. A million innocent lives will be lost with the
radioactive fallout effecting neighbouring countries. In addition, USA will have to strike all
the nuclear arsenals possessed by North Korea to prevent a retaliatory strike. Currently we
are aware of a few sites. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the paranoia present in Kim’s-
regime would push them to essentially litter their country with nuclear bombs to prevent
their only strength being taken away. So, the possibility of a mushroom cloud over major US
Pacific cities is a frightening but realistic scenario that even the USA won’t take chances
with.

Assassination needs timing, planning, logistics and skill to successfully pull it off. There is a
great risk as North Korea is a nuclear nation. What kind of atmosphere would be suitable?
The first thing we need to look at is the stability of the country. This then begs the question,
how stable is North Korea? According to https://www.americanprogress.org/article/stable-
north-korea-right-now/
things are not looking ideal. “In the summer of 2020, the country was hit by a series of
natural disasters in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic”, “that the country’s five-year
economic plan had failed. In June”. He admitted that the country’s food situation is “getting
tense”. So, it is safe to assume that the cracks on the foundation of the Kim regime are
showing. Kim is not stupid; he knows every well that he is a target for the West so he has
taken some precautions to prevent his demise. For instance according to
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4611216/Kim-Jong-uses-decoy-vehicles-avoid-
assassination.html, “Kim Jong-un is so nervous about potential plots to assassinate him that
he is travelling at dawn and frequently switches cars to foil enemies”, as well as according to

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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/16/nervous-kim-jong-un-trying-avoid-assassinated/
, “reported earlier this year that the US and South Korea are setting up a special forces unit
that would be tasked with eliminating the North Korean leadership in the event of war
breaking out on the peninsula, US made it clear that the units were training to carry out a
decapitation operation" designed to kill the North's leaders and destroy the regime's ability to
continue fighting.” This all goes to show that the Kim regime’s paranoia on an assassination
attempt on the supreme leader has led to them developing measures that would make it
difficult to come close to him.

Invading North Korea to topple the Kim regime to “liberate” its people will cost hundreds of
thousands of lives. The unforeseeable events it could lead to for the whole planet, making it
exceptionally difficult. According to 2023 North Korea Military Strength - Global
Firepower, “North Korea is ranked 34 of 145 out of the countries considered for the annual
Global Firepower review.” In simple terms, they are like a strong wall, slightly outdated
equipment, but they can put up a big fight. But let’s also look at the morale of the people.
North Korea’s education system is designed to make America appear as a cruel and
merciless enemy. According to https://www.denverpost.com/2012/06/23/north-koreans-
taught-to-hate-america-from-an-early-age/ “For North Koreans, the systematic indoctrination
of anti-Americanism starts as early as kindergarten and is as much a part of the curriculum as
learning to count.” A recent example being according to the same website “A framed poster
on the wall of a … a hapless American soldier, his face bandaged and blood spurting from his
mouth.” The poster saying “Drive out the American imperialists. Let's reunify our
fatherland.”. This one but powerful example demonstrates that a North Korean citizen is
brought up being indoctrinated to hate America from the bottom of their heart. So, if the
same America was to come into their country to invade and bring their “freedom” to them
the sentiment would be to resist till their last breath, The most powerful weapon after all, are
mindless followers whose very ability to think is shaped by your standards. This means the
war would bog down the conflict for much longer, resulting in more casualties. The
geopolitical effects will be significant. Assuming that the USA starts bolstering its military
presence in Japan and South Korea to prepare for a full-blown ground assault. Let’s put you
as the Supreme leader of North Korea. Now you see based on the reports that America is
bringing in tanks, artillery, airships and men to its nearby allies. You would be alarmed- so
what options do you have, your military is powerful but your cold war era weapons won’t
stand next to modern weapons, sure you can do a total mobilization and prepare, but you’re
starving populus would starve even more since you would need to feed your troops, creating
instability. You are left with the nuclear weapons, your only option. So, any sign of an
invasion of North Korea would lead to mushroom clouds over Japan and South Korea.
Something the USA can’t afford.

The possible geopolitical effects of taking North Korea include China panicking as it would
allow the USA to place its military right on China’s border, should the USA after the war
allow South Korea to reunite with the North. Already the situation is tense between the two
superpowers. The USA is attempting its island strategy to contain China in case of a possible
war by their “first island chain” , according to
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/geostrategic-competition-and-overseas-basing-in-east-
asia-and-the-first-island-chain/#:~:text=The%20first%20island%2Dchain%20roughly,of
%20the%20Philippines%2C%20and%20Indonesia. , “The first island-chain roughly refers
to the chain of islands encompassing Japan, Taiwan, portions of the Philippines, and
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Indonesia.” This is because of “geostrategic competition with China.” To summarise it’s
the USAs response to an aggressive and powerful China attempting to regain its historic
world dominance. China might see the annexation of Korea as a further attempt to contain it
which could result in history repeating itself by China potentially joining the war to protect
North Korea as this had occurred during the Cold War. Risking all out nuclear catastrophe.

Overthrowing the Kim regime is a very bad idea due to the sheer risks involved in the
operation and the global tensions it would fuel. In addition, the totally unpredictable path this
event could lead to has a significant chance of breaking into a total nuclear annihilation. So,
to end, this subject it best to remain in the YouTube videos and reports.

Sources:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...
North Korea (PRK) Exports, Imports, and Trade Partners | OEC
2023 North Korea Military Strength - Global Firepower
Nuclear Weapons Worldwide | Union of Concerned Scientists
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org
%2F2018%2F06%2F12%2F619247404%2Ftrump-says-north-korea-will-destroy-missile-site-
but-which-
one&psig=AOvVaw3vwjYdZlwdRJHsLHTn63yN&ust=1693400871520000&source=images&cd=
vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CA0QjRxqFwoTCOiM5of4gYEDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAI

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