this is what I have so far, 416 words.
North Korea: The Country That Keeps on Giving
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), or North Korea, is one of youngest and most controversial country. Most people think that North Korea is a joke, an undeveloped, communist country lead by an unexperienced and young “Supreme Leader”, Kim Jong Un. Despite being undeveloped, North Korea follows Songun, or “military first” policy. North Korea has the 4th largest military, behind China, America, and India, including having ballistic missiles with warheads, leaving the commonly asked question: Should we be afraid of North Korea? What actions should we take against North Korea? And what will we do if North Korea does attack?
Before getting into the questions being asked, we have look at the background and history of North Korea. North Korea was annexed by the Empire of Japan in 1910. After the Japanese surrendered in World War 2 in 1945 after 2 atomic bombs set off in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Korea was split into 2 parts, North and South Korea. The Americans controlled the South, while the Soviets controlled the Northern part. During this time, there were claims of sovereignty, or supreme power of authority, which led to the Korean War in 1950. The Korean Armistice Agreement in 1953 led to a ceasefire between the US Military, South Korea, and North Korea due to the involvement of the Chinese. No peace treaty was ever signed. The end of the Korean War also formed the DMZ, or Demilitarized Zone. This DMZ splits Korea in half. The DMZ is located at the 38th parallel north. It is 160 miles long and 2 and a half miles wide. Even though the name may seem like there is no military action here, it is the most militarized zone. The DMZ has been in place since July 27th, 1953.
After the Korean War, North Korea still wanted to get at South Korea. North Korea had several failed assassination attempts on South Korean leaders. One of these is the Rangoon Bombing in 1983 ending up killing 21 people and wounding 46, and not killing the target, President Chun Doo-hwan. Tunnels were constantly being found in the DMZ, hinting towards a North Korean invasion of the south. Before this was the August Faction Incident. This is when North Korea’s first leader, Kim Il-Sung successfully resisted China and the Soviet Union to depose him for a Soviet Korean or the Yanan Faction, which is pro-Chinese.
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