Kim Jong-un Ready To Pounce on New “Cold War”
(DailyVantage.com) – Two world superpowers, the United States and Russia, engaged in what George Orwell deemed the “Cold War” from 1947 to 1991. Tensions between the two powers ran perilously high, especially as President Harry Truman and Premier Joseph Stalin went head-to-head in trying to beat each other out in the world of nuclear weapons. Fast forward nearly 100 years, and we might just see another cold war era — at least if Kim Jong-un gets his way, according to Choe Sang-Hun of The New York Times.
Kim Jong-un’s Escalation
Over the last several months, Kim has been steadily escalating his weapons testing. In fact, on Wednesday, November 2, North Korea’s military fired an astounding 23 missiles off both its coasts. It has been pushing the boundaries so much that it forced its southern neighbor to respond in kind. On the same day, South Korea fired missiles that encroached on the north as a warning.
In addition, Kim’s military has also trodden very finely on the border between its country and South Korea. All of these actions have come despite several warnings from the West.
US No Longer a “Unipolar,” Says Kim
Kim has been challenging the United States in recent months. Negotiations have fallen through many times over the last few decades, the most recent being last year. Sanctions have not deterred the Asian nation from continuing to build its arsenal despite Kim admitting his country’s economy is suffering.
In September, in a speech, Kim said the world was changing from a “unipolar world advocated by the US.” According to Lee Seong-Hyon of the George H.W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations, a cold war would benefit Kim because it would create “strategic value to China and Russia,” two countries currently vastly at odds with the West — particularly the US. In fact, both recently joined forces against Washington in a vote held by the UN Security Council to levy more sanctions against North Korea for its extensive missile testing, a violation of UN resolutions. China and Russia used their veto power to ensure the sanctions didn’t happen.
Kim has been leveraging situations as they arise to put himself further in the graces of the two countries leaders. For example, he took advantage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, officially backing the move. With the West irking Beijing with visits to and support for Taiwan, he could also easily position himself closer to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Despite these moves, Choe says Kim can’t afford a long, drawn-out battle with the West. He simply doesn’t have the leverage.
Do you think we’re heading into another cold war?
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