By Aimee Villalpando |Staff Writer|
With rumors circulating about North Korea’s possible missile threats, the United States continues to take preventative action despite their claims that an attack is not expected.
At this point in time, the world is divided on whether or not they believe North Korea will carry out its promise of nuclear attacks on their enemies, South Korea and the United States.
North Korea’s vague expressions of their intent to push the U.S. “to the brink of war” has effectively pushed most into a panic.
The President responds
According to CNN, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel reassures that, “we have every capacity to deal with any action North Korea will take to protect this country and the interests of this country and our allies.”
This was demonstrated when B-52 bombers were paraded over South Korea in March, which was said to be an annual, joint military exercise.
The Obama Administration continued to display their support by announcing plans to deploy ground-based missile interceptors.
President Obama was quoted saying, “We agree now is the time for North Korea to end the kind of belligerent approach they have been taking and try to lower temperatures,” on April 11 by CNN.
While many analysts believe North Korea’s threats surpass their capabilities and are quick to dismiss the possibility of any actions being carried out, there are those who believe the mere existence of such a threat should be taken very seriously.
“The Defense Intellegence Agency (DIA) assesses with moderate confidence the North currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles, however, the reliability will be low,” said Rep. Doug Lamborn, according to CNN.
On the other hand, some people warn that as a rogue nation, North Korea is capable of destructive, irresponsible behavior and should not be ignored.
Despite popular belief that North Korea will not pull through with their threats, analysts recognize Kim Jong Un’s desperation to assert his power.
Coyotes react
Student Jose Quintero explains “I feel that students here at CSUSB are not that familiar with the North Korea situation. I feel that all their sources are coming from social media such as Facebook, which is depriving them from educating themselves and kind of formulates biases towards another country without having the right information to back up their speculations.”
When asked how he thinks the situation will play out, CSUSB student Joshua Shuford maintains an optimistic outlook by asserting that “there shouldn’t be war, or threats of war … I believe somehow people are going to have a stronger voice and keep peace.”
Another student Jaime Garcia takes a critical stance on the issue, “To a certain extent, yes, North Korea may be a rogue nation, but at the same time I think the media here would like to demonize North Korea. The truth is somewhere in the middle, but what we get is obviously our end, whatever they want us to think.”
The issue continues to develop and there’s no evidence that shows whether or not North Korea will follow through.
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