North Korea has some frightening hardware these days but just how effective it would be on the battlefield is unknown. A display of North Korean hardware drove past Kim in Pyong Yang with what may be ICBMs or Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles or just the cases of such weapons; nothing is known for sure.
Soldiers both male and female goose-stepped past Kim as he took the salute and watching this parade it reminded one of something from the old Soviet Union. Kim's regime is old style Communist through and through with the people swearing undying loyalty to their leader.
How patriotic they really are of course is not known as to not pay lip service to the hereditary dictatorship is probably playing with your life.
Kim's only friend China
The only friend that the regime has is China and other than that the nation is isolated from the rest of the world because that is how the regime prefers it. The country's gullible citizens are told lies about the outside world by the state-controlled media and access to the internet is controlled if not outright banned.
Although friendly to North Korea the antics of the government south of the Chinese border is even trying Beijing's patience. With all the building tensions between the US and North Korea, the Chinese have stopped coal barges from entering Chinese waters and if they ban oil exports it could really damage the economy of the country.
The reason this is being done is because Trump asked his opposite number in China to sort Kim out or Trump would do it.
China does want a war between the North Koreans and Americans as this would really put pressure on China on how to react. If it stayed out of the war and the regime in Pyong Yang collapsed this would be a major headache for China.
If conflict ensued China may feel some obligation to support its fellow Communist neighbour either clandestinely or openly bringing it into direct combat with America.
Kim's nuclear and missile program
North Korea, for all its spouting of being a great military power, must feel vulnerable in the world with China as its only true friend.
It may feel it needs nukes and long-range missiles to deliver them to feel it can hit back at enemies if attacked. It has also been suggested that when it looks at what happened to Iraq and Libya who succumbed to Western aggression it may feel that if it has a nuclear capability and the missiles to deliver them the US might think twice before attacking. Pyong Yang has been testing missiles and doing nuke tests for a while now and yesterday's launching of a missile ended in spectacular failure.
None the less despite Trump's warning and the American battle fleet being off its coastline, North Korea will carry on regardless and therein lies the danger.
