North Korea resumes missile tests, raising tensions with rivals
NBCMAR 25 2024
NKorea: Kim Jong Un Oversees Hypersonic Missile Test
Image copyright: Chung Sung-Jun/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Spin
Anti-North Korea narrative
As much as North Korea wishes to flex its military potential and threaten war with bombastic rhetoric, it would be best for Pyongyang not to push this too far. Its current rate of military drills will be near-impossible to sustain, and the North is well known to suffer extreme economic hardship. Dangerous propaganda and military activity are a mask for a vulnerable nation.
Pro-North Korea narrative
North Korea's recent spate of military drills comes in response to Washington and Seoul speaking of regime change while carrying out joint war games. Were Kim planning to unilaterally wage a war against them — something that's not in his country's best interest — anytime soon, he wouldn't be sending ammunition and missiles to Russia.