I am concerned. In fact, I'm deeply worried about our future. North Korea has been provoking the world for years now and recently things have reached a whole new level. Trump is helpless unless he wants to really destroy the whole Korean Peninsula. Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping seem disinterested or focused on other things. Is the world heading towards a new world war?
Recent provocations
It all began last Sunday. On September 3, North Korea announced that they had carried out a successful experiment with a hydrogen bomb, causing a 6.3 magnitude earthquake.
The explosion was felt in neighboring South Korea, Japan, China and even Russia. Experts believe that an H-bomb is ten times more powerful than an atomic bomb. A week before, on 28 August, the communist country fired a missile which flew over Japan and landed in the sea near the Land of The Rising Sun. Even though North Korea has been threatening the world for decades, everything seems more real, more tangible now - they have nuclear weapons which they intend to use. Of course, the rest of the world will not just sit and watch the show.
When it all started
The roots of the problem with North Korea are deep and the situation is really complicated. In my opinion, everything started back when one country, one nation, one people were divided in two by the USA and the Soviet Union in two after the end of WWII in 1945.
And things have been going really fine for the South, which is at present one of the most technologically advanced countries. But the North has had a rough time ever since, turning this beautiful land into an isolated hermit kingdom populated by people who cry they eyes out when one of their dictators die. More than 70 years ago, a bomb was planted with the potential of a new world war.
Who supports the regime
North Korea is an extremely poor country and without external help, the regime would not last a day. The numbers are unequivocal - when it comes to GDP, North Korea's economy is just 2.8 percent of South Korea's. According to the Bank of Korea data, in 2016 the former stood at $28.5 billion and the latter at $1.34 trillion.
You can certainly see the difference.
Although many countries have provided financial aid to North Korea, including the hated Japan and South Korea, the key that unlocks the door is China. The former empire is the biggest trading partner of North Korea and holds 90 percent of the country's total trade. Besides - China supplies the regime with a very precious commodity – oil. No army could ever exist without black gold.
So now what? We, common folk, can do nothing but wait and see. Before the last world war broke out, three of the main political figures were Stalin, Hitler, and Mussolini. Now, look around and tell me who you see? Trump, Putin and Kim Jong-un? Seems like “gifts” always come in three's.