After Russian President Putin visited the DPRK and signed a new Russian-DPRK security agreement with DPRK supreme leader Kim Jong-un, not only South Korea was anxious, but the United States also could not sit still and directly sailed the "Roosevelt" aircraft carrier to South Korea in an attempt to threaten Pyongyang, but the DPRK did not back down at all and also made harsh remarks against the United States. According to reference sources, after the USS Roosevelt aircraft carrier strike group entered Busan, DPRK Vice Defense Minister Kim Gang-il warned that this was a "reckless choice and action" of the United States. He said the U.S. and South Korea's flex of force was "tantamount to playing with fire in an extremely risky manner."
King Kong Day also stressed that the purpose of why and against whom the United States is sending nuclear aircraft carriers at this sensitive time is very clear. In response to the provocative attempts of the United States and South Korea, the DPRK "does not at all rule out all new overwhelming demonstrations of deterrence." That is, in the face of the American threat, the DPRK not only does not compromise, but also comes up with "counter-demonstration" actions. In this regard, people can't help but ask: The United States is a "global war monger," so why does it dare not touch North Korea?
A cursory calculation shows that in the past 40 years, the United States has launched the Gulf War, the Yugoslav War, the Iraq War, the Afghanistan War, the Libyan War, the Syrian War, etc., and is now participating in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Basically, the United States will be involved in large-scale regional hotspot wars that break out around the world. However, with regard to North Korea, although the United States has continued to escalate tensions on the peninsula, it has never dared to act lightly, and there may be four reasons behind this.
First, North Korea already has de facto nuclear weapons.
For small or weak countries, if they want to be bullied by the hegemon, one is to find a balance between the big countries and maintain their own security by "borrowing", such as Singapore, which is a friend of China and the United States, and can cooperate. But between China and the United States, it will not make a choice. When sharp contradictions arise between China and the United States, Singapore can even act as a "messenger" to deliver news to the two countries and put forward pertinent opinions to the two countries. The other is, like North Korea, which has its own "fist weapon".
Today, the reality that the DPRK actually "possesses nuclear weapons" is basically recognized by the international community, just as Israel, India, and Pakistan also actually possess nuclear weapons; although they do not have the legitimacy of the "P5" countries to possess nuclear weapons, it is very advantageous for self-defense if they do not take the initiative to infringe on other countries. Against the backdrop of the constant provocations launched by the United States and South Korea, the DPRK has written a "nuclear counterattack" into its constitution, and if it uses force against the DPRK, it is possible that it will "end up together" under extreme circumstances, and the United States will of course have to weigh it.
Second, Seoul is too close to North Korea.
We found that Seoul, the capital of South Korea, is only 40 kilometers away from the North Korean border, and this distance, not to mention North Korea's most powerful missile strike, even North Korean rocket artillery, can easily hit South Korea's "capital area". No matter how advanced the US anti-missile weapons are, they must always have a reaction and interception time, and the distance of 40 kilometers is too difficult for the US anti-missile forces, and it is impossible to effectively protect Seoul at all.
Let's take an example, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict broke out because NATO insisted on "eastward expansion" and wanted to deploy missiles to Ukraine. However, Putin has made it clear that if NATO deploys advanced missiles into Ukraine, it will only take 12 minutes to fly to Moscow when it strikes Russia, and in such a short time, Russia will not be able to make effective interceptions. Therefore, NATO's move is a "red line" for Russia. After that, NATO still insisted on advancing towards Ukraine, and so the war broke out.
So far, the four eastern and southern regions of Ukraine have been incorporated into Russia after a referendum, and have been written into the constitution of Russia as legal territory. Why? It is precisely because Russia wants to establish a "strategic buffer zone" between itself and NATO, so that it can have effective defense time in the event of an incident.
But objectively speaking, if North Korea strikes back against the United States and South Korea, Seoul's security may not be guaranteed. What's worse is that the "Seoul metropolitan area" is directly related to nearly 60% of South Korea's GDP, and if it is defeated, even if South Korea wins the war, it will be a loser, because the entire country's economy has basically collapsed. Against this background, even if the United States and South Korea "want to move the mind of the DPRK," they must carefully weigh it clearly, because after all, they are carrying a "big burden" that they cannot shake off.
Thirdly, behind North Korea stand two great powers.
Yes, this is China and Russia, two countries that are considered "real adversaries" by the Biden administration in the United States.
Militarily, although the United States is the strongest in the world, if a major war breaks out, it still does not dare to confront Russia, because Russia's strategic strength is even stronger than that of the United States. Economically, China is gradually approaching the United States, and the United States is worried that China will transform its powerful economic capabilities into military strength like the United States did in World War II, so it has been implementing blockade and containment against China, hoping to defeat China, the "second in the world," just as it did when it "collapsed" the Soviet Union, the European Union, and Japan.
In other words, China and Russia are now the "adversaries" that the United States is dealing with, and the geographical location of the DPRK has a direct bearing on the strategic security of China and Russia.
Just recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the DPRK, and the two sides signed the "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty." Putin made it clear that "this treaty is in permanent force, and if either side of Russia and the DPRK is invaded, the other side must provide assistance." Moreover, the two sides do not rule out the possibility of military cooperation. This signal has been very clear - if there is something wrong with North Korea, there is something wrong with Russia, and if the United States and South Korea dare to launch a military attack on North Korea, it is tantamount to invading Russia.
Unlike Russia, the border between China and North Korea is long enough that China will not allow North Korea to "have trouble", even for its own security. Moreover, China is the world's second-largest economy, and North Korea will be a huge engine for its economic development if it needs it.
Fourth, the United States has already lost once in the Korean theater.
This is also a very important historical wake-up call, because in those years, China had neither missiles, nor nuclear weapons, nor even an air force, and its national strength was far less powerful than it is now, but it was against that difficult background that China and the DPRK still drove the US-led "United Nations Army" south of the "38th parallel" and won a major strategic victory, laying the foundation for the balance on the peninsula today. If China comes to the aid of North Korea today, will the United States still have to fight? Not to mention, there is Russia standing next to it.