As North Korea Gains Russia Support, Biden Fires US Missile To Warn Kim Jong Un

As North Korea finds itself building closer alliances with both China and Russia amid a severe food and medical shortage, they find themselves clashing with the U.S. and South Korea to the point where both sides test-fired missiles to warn the hermit kingdom on Monday.

North Korea fired eight short-range missiles into a nearby sea on Sunday, setting off a clash where South Korea and the United States fired eight missiles of their own, one of which belong to the U.S., into the same sea on Monday, according to the Daily Beast.

The move is seen as a demonstration of the capabilities of the United States and South Korea, which has been pivoting away from diplomacy towards the autocracy after the election of both U.S. President Joe Biden and conservative Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was inaugurated last month.

“These launches would seem to be a North Korean message to the new South Korean president to cool down his participation in exercises with the U.S. and to not get cozy with Japan,” former Army officer Steve Tharp said.

“With President Yoon's administration following up with rhetoric and actions that are clearly pro-U.S. and anti-North Korea in nature, the North has to start all over again when it comes to bringing the South in line.”

With the breakdown of diplomacy between the United States and North Korea, the autocratic nation has noticeably moved closer with both China and Russia, due to the food and medical supply shortages of the country as well as the reported rising cases of COVID-19, Nikkei Asia reported.

North Korea has also used the Russia-Ukraine conflict to build stronger alliances with Moscow, being one of the nations to vote against a United Nations resolution denouncing Russia for the Ukraine conflict in March.

Because of these stronger alliances, however, many intelligence officials believe that North Korea has been forced to postpone or cancel another nuclear weapons test in order to appease both China and Russia, who are in agreement with the United States in the stance of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal.

“No affinity or trust exists between the Russian and North Korean leaders. And Xi feels the same way toward Pyongyang,” a South Korean expert of the matter said.