In foreign policy no buzzword is bigger than North Korea with its potential nuclear attack. It is back to the days of the Cold War, silently waiting and wondering if a missile will be launched by a communist country that doesn’t like America. It may seem that North Korea is just waiting to press the launch button but rest assured if they did, and chances are high they won’t, America will fight back.
In the Cold War era a nuclear attack seemed imminent, but never happened even when there were missiles in Cuba, a country much closer to home than North Korea. Seth Myers joked on “Saturday Night Live” that the middle of the ocean should be prepared- meaning that North Korea may not even be able to reach mainland America.
In all seriousness there is nothing funny about a potential nuclear attack, but rest assured the military is well prepared.
There is a strong military presence in South Korea and Japan as well as 14 long-range missiles that were deployed to Alaska, according to Wired.com. The Pentagon has just now confirmed that North Korea has miniaturized a nuclear warhead for a missile, but keep in mind Cheyenne and other places in the US have them too, meaning that strategically North Korea would be foolish to launch theirs, especially if it may not even reach mainland America.
This is a potentially scary time. Nuclear weapons are not something to mess around with, but just because threats are being made doesn’t mean it is time to jump into the fallout shelter just yet.
North Korea is a bit of a wild card when it comes to predicting their behavior, but from many standpoints launching a missile would be a foolish choice for the impoverished nation. China supplies North Korea with most of its fuel and food and if North Korea damages its relationship with the US then the economic ties between China and America could be broken off in a move that would harm two of the world’s largest economies. From an economic standpoint it is in North Korea’s best interest to keep on good terms with China.
Foreign policy in regards to North Korea may feel like a big game of cat and mouse but don’t lose sleep over a potential nuclear attack just yet. The American government for the most part has our best interests as heart and those don’t involve nuclear war. There is no need to stock the fallout shelter just yet.
