SUPREME LEADER: ATTENTION WHORE

Kim Jong Un, the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea, is a complicated and polarizing figure. Hailed “The Great Successor” after his father’s death in 2011, Kim Jong Un follows in the footsteps of his father King Jong Il, and his grandfather Kim Il Sung, as the dominating cult of personality leader that is literally viewed by his people as a God. Regularly performing symbolic & attention-grabbing acts such as launching spy satellites, testing hypersonic ballistics missiles, and firing cruise missiles into the sea, Kim Jong Un is an unpredictable wildcard in geopolitics that consistently makes international media headlines for some of the worst reasons.

NUCLEAR WEAPONS: DEFENSIVE, OR OFFENSIVE?
Kim Jong Un’s North Korea currently possesses an estimated 45-55 nuclear weapons. This is alongside the newly purchased Russian hypersonic ballistic missiles, and one of the largest stocks of conventional arms in the world. Most experts agree that the nuclear weapons are primarily a deterrent against foreign aggression. However, an outspoken and increasingly credible few have presented persuasive arguments suggesting Kim Jong Un has already made the strategic decision to initiate an offensive war. In fact, most geopolitical researchers now agree that if war were to breakout in Asia-Pacific, it is far more likely to be on the Korean peninsula than even the island of Taiwan.

RELATIONS WITH SOUTH KOREA: SUDDENLY DETERIORATING
Despite the trend of the last decade towards warming relations with South Korea, Kim Jong Un has taken a sudden hawkish turn after three failed summits with former president Trump. In characteristic Kim Jong Un symbolic style – after announcing a “fundamental turnabout” in relations with South Korea and calling them the “principal enemy” – he demolished the four-story joint-liaison office building it shared with South Korea and destroyed the “Arch of Reunification” monument in Pyongyang. Clearly, something has shifted in Kim’s mind and ever since there have been discouragingly few attempts from either side at reconciliation, and the rhetoric has only been accelerating in recent months.

MEDIA SILENCE: TICKING TIME BOMB?
Consequently, it appears that Kim Jong Un, and the Korean Peninsula more generally, is a powder keg ready to explode at any moment. Highly anxious and increasingly credible regional experts have sounded the alarm. Despite all the negative developments, the media has been suspiciously quiet lately. That is sure to change very soon, and explosively.