International eyes have been focused on Egypt recently.

However, it is good to remember all the trouble that North Korea has been stirring up in the Pacific Rim recently. Princeton student Josh Zuckerman shares his sound analysis:

…The North’s increasingly bellicose taunts, as well as the immediate danger that our vital military and economic allies South Korea and Japan now face, have created an interesting foreign policy dilemma for the Obama administration and for the Pentagon. While United Nations sanctions have successfully crippled the North Korean economy, they have clearly failed to prevent the hostility displayed by the Kim regime. (Also devastated by UN sanctions, Iran is now contemplating shipping oil to North Korea). Must the United States, as a result, take harsher action against North Korea? Preemptive military strikes are (at least for now) unwise, as they would almost certainly result in a full-scale war. But the American military has increased its presence in the Pacific, sending additional troops and machinery to Guam, South Korea, and the waters surrounding the Korean Peninsula.

While this increased preparedness on the part of the American military is certainly justifiable, it will likely prove to be for naught considering North Korea’s long history of making empty threats. Furthermore, while North Korea undeniably engages in strange behavior, its leaders, while perhaps a tad bit crazy, are not stupid. Kim Jong Un surely realizes that, although his nation is capable of causing a great deal of damage and death in South Korea, his military is no match for American strength. A direct attack on South Korea would likely be initially successful but would ultimately lead to unimaginable devastation in the North should America choose to respond with her full military capabilities. Although Kim Jong Un is perfectly willing to let his people starve to death, it is unlikely he will start a war that will lead to thousands, if not more, of civilian casualties.

Like all recent crises on the volatile Korean Peninsula, it is likely that this one too will pass without violence or bloodshed. Luckily, North Korea seems primarily interested in showing its strength. While the motives of the isolated nation are unclear, the recent surge in propaganda and hostile rhetoric are probably attempts to increase solidarity, cohesion, and feelings of nationalism among its censored and oppressed people. By rallying its people around common enemies—South Korea and the United States-the communist regime is attempting to earn the loyalty of its denizens. North Korea’s recent actions are, therefore, merely manifestations of the cult of Kim Jong Un. They represent yet another attempt to brainwash and manipulate an uneducated population that is kept in a state of ignorance.