Kim Jong-Un’s 2017

By: Sean Sevilla    Feb. 9, 2018

 

2017 was a relatively successful year for North Korean supreme leader, Kim Jong-Un. He advanced upon his nuclear program and overall military might, has been taken more seriously, and had his most potential replacement, his half-brother, killed. All around, a great year for the guy, imposing a fear similar to that of another totalitarian leader by the name of Adolf Hitler. A growing army from a far out land, shrouded in mystery while he controls his people’s media and beliefs. Along with a great nuclear power, there’s a similar tension to the one we had with the U.S.S.R., in the cold war. Especially with the fact that their missiles could reach many major cities in the U.S., including Washington D.C.

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With his military counting over a

million members in service and nearly

8 million in reserve, Kim is a force

to be reckoned with. Not to mention

his growing arsenal of nuclear

missiles, with many tests taking place

last year, like missiles capable of

reaching Los Angeles, Denver, and

Chicago tested ironically on July 4th,

along with nuclear warheads made to

fit those missiles more powerful than those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, tested in September.

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Trump’s coming to power also brought a rivalry between himself and Kim, even giving each other nicknames such as “mentally deranged U.S. dotard” (Kim to Trump) and “Little Rocket Man” (Trump to Kim). So naturally, Kim Jong-Un got a spike in attention. Kim is being taken far more seriously than ever, and with good reason. We cannot leave a country making military advancements this quickly, to be left unchecked.

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In addition, with all this power, Kim can’t have his people act as competitors and undermine him. Those he sees as threats to his throne, he executes. Including his own half-brother, Kim Kong-Nam, (who was Kim Jong-Il’s eldest son and original candidate as supreme leader of North Korea), that he killed in a vicious chemical attack in an airport in Malaysia. In addition to this he’s had several senior officials executed for reasons such as failed nuclear tests and launch delays.

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All in all, Kim Jong-Un must be stopped. His similarities to former dangers of the world are uncanny, and the moment he commits an act of war, we must swing at him with full force to prevent as many casualties as possible. Past wars have shown that dragging the battle out leads to more death than necessary. 2017 will be Kim’s peak. We cannot allow him to grow in power any longer, and doing so may lead to catastrophic results, such as another major war.