North Korea Threatens to Attack

By Ryan Mauro

North Korea says it is considering South Korea’s decision to join the Proliferation Security Initiative, which is an international partnership dedicated to interdicting shipments of WMD-related supplies, as an act of war. North Korea further added that ships in the Yellow Sea can no longer be guaranteed safety.

Keep in mind, North Korea has warned that other taken and potential actions taken against them such as sanctions, shooting down a missile being test-fired, or even U.N. resolutions, would be treated as “acts of war.” This is a common threat from North Korea.

However, Kim Jong-Il is a dictator, and dictators by their very nature are irrational. No action on the part of the North Korean government can be ruled out if Kim Jong-Il views it as necessary, whether for reasons of prestige, power, financial (to pressure the West into providing more aid) or in his mind, national security.

Luckily for the West, Kim Jong-Il is not ideologically motivated. All his actions are taken for selfish reasons, and therefore he is likely to calculate his moves based on what will most improve the power and well being of himself and his family. That doesn’t change the fact that he’s a dictator in poor health, though, and when such a man has complete control over decision-making, it can create a very combustible situation. [more...]