Kim Jong Un led North Korea through a rapid acceleration of ballistic missile and nuclear weapon technology last year. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un boasted about having “a nuclear button always on my desk” during his annual New Year’s address on Monday. Kim also called for improved relations with
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un boasted about having “a nuclear button always on my desk” during his annual New Year’s address on Monday. He warned that all of the American mainland is within range of his country’s missiles, so the U. S. will not risk war against his regime.
Kim also called for improved relations with South Korea and suggested he might be willing to send a delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang next month. But this was cold comfort coming from a regime that spread anxiety throughout East Asia with its weapon development throughout 2017.
Last September, North Koreans reportedly flooded the streets of Pyongyang for fireworks and all-around revelry after the regime successfully tested a hydrogen bomb. Kim’s regime is among the world’s most tyrannical and the population is bombarded with militaristic propaganda, so it’s hard for outsiders to distinguish between feigned jubilation from authentic. But it’s impossible to overlook the rapid development of North Korea’s missiles and nuclear weapons technology.
North Korea is a desperately poor country, and one of the world’s most-heavily sanctioned. Few of its citizens get the opportunity to study overseas. How did they manage to vault into the ranks of the world’s leading military powers? Who has been helping them with funding and technical expertise?
The image of Kim in Western media is often cartoonish — until he tests yet another intercontinental ballistic missile or threatens another U.
