As The US Election Draws Near, North Korea Is Making Wilder Threats
Kim-Jung-Un visits the Uranium enrichment site (Photo: NBC/Reuters)
On Sept. 12, North Korea revealed a glimpse into their uranium enrichment facilities, boasting to the world the speed of their nuclear technology advancement despite the sanctions placed on them by the international community.
The United Nations has set multiple sanctions on North Korea in the past, including Resolution 1718 in 2006, following North Korea’s first nuclear test. By outlining a complete ban on materials and technologies that could aid in the future development of North Korea’s ballistic missiles, the UN hoped to deter the further spread of nuclear arsenal in an already highly politicized region. More than a decade later, the results are now in, and we see that much of these efforts have been in vain. Despite further economic sanctions (a record number of nine over a period of 11 years) North Korea has still managed to conduct over 6 nuclear tests during this timespan.
The unpredictable behavior of the rogue state, along with their usual repertoire of unaccounted missile launches into the East Sea, wouldn’t seem that out of place under normal circumstances. After all, this wouldn’t be the first time that North Korea has made threats to annihilate its enemies. However, these are not normal circumstances: the Russo-Ukraine war continues, while conflict in the Middle East is rising once again. In addition, the US presidential election is just around the corner, the outcome of which may dictate the international community's stance towards North Korea for the foreseeable future.
Despite North Korea’s apparent resilience towards the economic sanctions of the international community, it is impossible for any country to properly function without international trade in the era of globalization. Indeed, it is common and documented knowledge that North Korea’s economy is in shambles: according to the 2022 survey by the World Bank, North Korea ranked 209th in nominal GDP out of the 217 countries included in the survey. Due to the government’s failure to control the economy, the amount of North Korean residents who have failed to receive rations from the government has increased from 35.5% in the 1990s to 72.2% in 2020, according to a report by South Korea’s Ministry of Unification.
The state of North Korea’s economy has, in recent years, led to the rise of anti-government sentiment within the country. South Korea has recorded that around 190 North Korean residents defected to South Korea in 2024, around three times the number recorded during previous years. By ramping up the rhetoric of nuclear threat, North Korea is trying to position itself as a real threat to American national security in order to leverage the international community into reliving some of the economic sanctions that are starting to slowly crumble the country from within.
So how would the results of the US presidential election affect America’s relationship with North Korea?
Kamala Harris visits the DMZ zone (Photo: CNN/Leah Millis)
Currently, Vice President Kamala Harris hasn’t placed much emphasis on North Korea, preferring to focus on topics like abortion, immigration, and the US economy. However, we can expect to see much of what we have already seen from the current Biden administration: strong economic sanctions while ramping up strategic alliances with allies like Japan and South Korea. From North Korea’s perspective – already struggling from the economic sanctions of the past – this may actually be their worst case scenario.
This isn’t to say that the future looks so bright for North Korea under a second Trump administration. Even though Donald Trump has sometimes called Kim Jong-Un his friend, the relationship between Trump and North Korea has been turbulent. Some may even remember Trump’s reference to his “bigger nuclear button” to which North Korea responded by making threats of bombing Guam. The former president, to his credit, has also been known to walk out of a deal instead of settling with a bad one. Thus, no matter which presidency North Korea has to deal with, it is highly unlikely that the economic sanctions that have been plaguing the country won't be going anywhere anytime soon.