The United States, a country in the Middle East, said it would fight, so why didn't it dare to hit North Korea? North Korea's hole cards should not be underestimated. Why is it that the United States of America, which is fighting in the Middle East, is helpless against North Korea on the peninsula? What kind of cards does North Korea have that the United States, the global hegemon, dare not underestimate?
Since the end of World War II, the United States has laid out chess pieces in the Middle East, hoping to dominate this resource-rich land. The subsequent Middle East War, the Gulf War, and the Iraq War all witnessed the formidable military strength of the US military. In particular, in the face of Iraq, a military power in the Middle East, it is even more invincible and victorious. At that time, countless countries bowed their heads and admitted defeat under the iron heel of the US military, and no one dared to confront them.
Who would have thought that today, in the 21 st century, North Korea, an inconspicuous small country, would frequently ignore the warnings of the United States, and even openly challenge the bottom line of the United States. However, the United States has nothing to do with such a "small body" and can only repeatedly use powerless sanctions. This makes outsiders puzzled, what killer feature is hidden in North Korea that makes the big Buddha of the United States scratch his head?
Looking back at history, it is not difficult to find that North Korea was actually the first country that the United States took the initiative to attack after World War II, much earlier than the Middle East. It's a pity that in the Korean War, the high-spirited U.S. troops were finally defeated and retreated, and had to choose to reluctantly shake hands and make peace. Although this was mainly due to the efforts of the Chinese People's Volunteers to turn the tide, the heroic resistance of the Korean military and civilian compatriots also added a lot of stuffy sticks to the battlefield.
Why is North Korea, which seems to be weak, able to stand up to the United States, a global superpower? There are actually three reasons for this:
First of all, North Korea has excellent military power. In the traditional belief that economic backwardness means military weakness. However, North Korea has broken this stereotype, and it has made a qualitative leap forward in the modernization and mechanization of its military, and its ground firepower far exceeds that of Israel, a Middle Eastern power. What's even more terrifying is that North Korea also has the capability of long-range precision strikes, and its self-developed Hwasong-based missiles have a range of 8,000 kilometers, which is enough to cover the entire North American region.
Second, North Korea is a veritable nuclear power. According to authoritative media estimates, North Korea currently has 15-60 nuclear weapons, plus ultra-high-precision missiles, North Korea has a nuclear deterrent against the United States. With this "killer weapon" in hand, no matter how the United States sanctions and encircles it, the DPRK will be able to be overbearing.
Finally, thanks to a highly centralized political system, North Korea has a united national will and is a great wall of steel that the American color revolution will not shake. While countries sanctioned by the United States tend to be divided by internal strife, North Korea can concentrate its entire efforts against foreign repression. In addition, the North Korean people have an indomitable will to fight, so the United States is not willing to rashly attack the DPRK, so as not to fall into the Afghan-style quagmire and whirlpool.
In addition to the above three killer features, North Korea also has a natural advantage, and that is the importance of geographical location. The DPRK is close to China and Russia, and once the United States uses force against the DPRK, it will inevitably attract counterattacks and retaliation from China and Russia. Just like the Korean War in 1950, after the US troops landed at Incheon, China promptly increased its troops to resist US aggression and aid Korea, and protected its national security with practical actions. Now that the power gap between China and the United States has narrowed significantly, China is even less likely to sit idly by and watch North Korea collapse.
In contrast, the war in the Middle East has its own special significance for the United States. It contains the oil resources that the United States needs most, and even if it costs a lot, as long as you can finally control a few rich oil fields, everything will be worth it. There is no other attractive loot on the Korean Peninsula except for geographical advantages, and this high-risk and low-reward war naturally cannot enter the field of vision of the United States.
It can be seen from this that the combination of the four cards of powerful conventional military force, remote-controlled nuclear force, centralized power system, and geostrategic superiority constitutes a "Korean miracle" that makes the United States, the hegemon, fearful. Surrounded by East Asia, a "country of monsters," North Korea is small, but it must not be underestimated. As the old saying goes, "Although the tiger is young, it can eat meat". The small DPRK has its own extraordinary ability to protect itself, and this is the fundamental reason why the United States is helpless against it.