North Korea, with a population of about 25 million, is located on the northern half of the Korean peninsula. China and Russia lie to the north and South Korea to the south.
After WW II, the country of Korea was split into North and South Korea, with North Korea coming under Soviet communist control and South Korea became a US-backed republic. The Korean War (1950-1953) began when North Korea attempted to take over South Korea by force. Following that unsuccessful attempt, North Korea became an even more reclusive and economically-deprived nation while South Korea has flourished economically.
Since its inception, North Korea has been under autocratic rule by a family dynasty. Kim Il Sung (1912-1994) was the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) from its formation in 1948 until his death. His son, Kim Jong Il (1941-2011) became his father’s successor as Supreme Leader in 1994, and his grandson, Kim Jong Un (1983-present), was given that title following the death of his father, Kim Jong Il. The North Korean government is notorious for its human rights violations, political assassinations, and erratic behavior.
The people of North Korea have been plagued by chronic food shortages caused by poor agricultural conditions, including a lack of arable land, poor farming practices, insufficient mechanization, and periodic droughts. Their standard of living has been further compromised by North Korea’s commitment to develop a formidable military force including atomic weapons and intercontinental missiles. North Korea recently obtained nuclear status and has launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile. Its nuclear and missile programs are progressing rapidly. It now has the technology to be a serious threat to its adversaries.
North Korea has a long-standing hatred of the United States at least in part because of the latter country’s role in defending South Korea during the Korean War. In 2013, North Korea threatened the United States with a pre-emptive nuclear attack and revealed plans for conducting nuclear attacks on US cities including Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles. Although it does not have a large stockpile of missiles or nuclear weapons, with current technology, it would take only one nuclear explosion high above the United States to produce a powerful EMP (electromagnetic pulse) that would disable a large area of the country. Most importantly, it would disable our defenses. It would deliver a devastating blow to our security and throw our standard of living back to the preindustrial era. With two or three well-placed nuclear high-atmosphere explosions, the entire country could be devastated.
