Introductory Note 

The following article by military analyst Drago Bosnic focusses on the DPRK’s modern weapons arsenal.

In the words of Drago Bosnic: 

“The mainstream propaganda machine regularly presents [the DPRK]  as a supposedly “backward society”, especially in terms of technological development. And yet, in reality, Pyongyang is ahead of the entire political West (the United States included) in critical technologies such as hypersonic weapons.” 

What is upheld by the media is the alleged threat of the DPRK against the National Security of the United States of America.

North Korea is presented by the media as a threat to World Peace, with the intent to attack America.

History 

Whether we like it or not, Pyongyang’s objective is  motivated by Strategic Defense and National Security. 

The crimes committed by the US military against the people of Korea in the course of the Korean War but also in its aftermath are unprecedented in modern history.

“We Killed Off – What – Twenty Percent of the Population. We Burned Down every Town in North Korea…”

The above quotation is from General Curtis Lemay, who coordinated the bombing campaign (1950-53)

Who is a Threat to Global Security? The US or the DPRK?

During the Korean War, the DPRK lost more than 25% of its population.

The population of North Korea was of the order of 8-9 million in 1950 prior the Korean War.

US sources acknowledge 1.55 million civilian deaths in North Korea, 215,000 combat deaths. MIA/POW 120,000, 300,000 combat troops wounded.

What we are dealing with are crimes of genocide under international law. 

(Article 2 of the “Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide”(1948))

In contrast, during the Second World War, the United Kingdom lost 0.94% of its population, France lost 1.35%, China lost 1.89% and the US lost 0.32%.

Casually ignored by the Western media and the international community, the US has actively deployed nuclear weapons targeted at North Korea for more than half a century in violation of article 13b) of the 1953 Armistice agreement.

Video Documentary

This episode details the US bombing campaign over North Korea and the results for the people on the ground.

(This segment on the bombing of North Korea was censored from the US version of this documentary.)

North Korea: A Threat to Global Security?

For the last 60 years, Washington has contributed to the political isolation of North Korea. It has sought to destabilize its national economy, including its industrial base and agriculture. It has relentlessly undermined the process of reunification of the Korean nation.

An important question for the American people.

How can a country which has lost a quarter of its population resulting from US aggression, constitute a threat to the American Homeland?

How can a country which has 30,000 US troops on its immediate border constitute a threat to America?

Given the history war crimes, how do the people of North Korea perceive the US threat to their Homeland.

There is not a single family in North Korea which has not lost a loved one in the course of the Korean War.

The Korean War was the first major US led war carried out in the immediate wake of World War II.

While the US and its NATO allies have waged numerous wars and military interventions in all major regions of the World in the course of what is euphemistically called the “post War era”, resulting in millions of civilians deaths, America is upheld as the guardian of democracy and World Peace.

War Propaganda

The Lie becomes the Truth.

Realities are turned upside down.

History is rewritten. North Korea is heralded as a threat.

America is not the aggressor nation but “the victim” of aggression.

Michel Chossudovsky, December 27, 2025

Drago Bosnic 

“The mainstream propaganda machine regularly presents [the DPRK]  as a supposedly “backward society”, especially in terms of technological development. And yet, in reality, Pyongyang is ahead of the entire political West (the United States included) in critical technologies such as hypersonic weapons.” 

Namely, much unlike the Pentagon, North Korea actually fields these missiles, while the former is still struggling to induct such weapons into service.

However, certain technologies still require decades to master. This is particularly true for nuclear-powered submarines. Only a handful of countries operate these vessels, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and India. Australia is in the process of acquiring them from Washington DC, but this still doesn’t mean it has mastered the technologies needed to develop and build them domestically.

Nuclear-powered submarines offer a number of strategic advantages over those with conventional propulsion, primarily the ability to remain submerged for months. They’re by far the most survivable part of any nuclear triad, as it’s an exceedingly difficult task to track and destroy them in case of a thermonuclear confrontation. Russia and the US both have submarines capable of launching their SLBMs (submarine-launched ballistic missiles) while underwater, making them effectively untouchable before it’s too late.

Thus, if a military power with global reach wants to ensure deterrence at all costs, it needs nuclear-powered submarines. Due to its size, North Korea is not a country you’d typically describe as a global military power. However, it seems precisely this is the case. Namely, over a year after announcing it, Pyongyang has now managed to build its first nuclear-powered submarine, an unprecedented development for such a small country.

North Korea has already accumulated significant experience in operating all sorts of submarine types, including conventionally powered ones, but armed with nuclear-tipped SLBMs. This alone makes it an extremely dangerous opponent, but the fact that it can now build nuclear-powered submarines exponentially enhances its strategic arsenal. It’s still unknown whether the vessel in question will be an SSBN (nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine) or an SSGN (nuclear-powered guided missile submarine), with the latter vessel carrying cruise missiles (both conventional and nuclear-tipped).

However, whichever path Pyongyang takes for its new capability, it’s a strategic game changer, as it allows the North Korean Navy to strike targets anywhere within the range of the submarine’s weapons, be it SLBMs or SLCMs (submarine-launched cruise missiles). Such a development is particularly alarming for Washington DC, its vassals and satellite states, because it means that Pyongyang cannot be defeated even in the case that the entire country is destroyed.

Namely, the Pentagon’s ability to threaten North Korea’s strategic arsenal will be effectively nullified with the appearance of the latter’s nuclear-powered submarines. What’s more, this also enhances Pyongyang’s ability to strike high-value targets all across the increasingly contested Asia-Pacific region. Worse yet for America, even if North Korean SLBMs have a relatively limited range, it’ll still be in the thousands of kilometers, meaning they can reach targets within the continental US, particularly the western seaboard.

This critically important region of the world’s most aggressive thalassocracy is already threatened by Russian and Chinese nuclear-powered submarines, so having North Korean ones is certainly a strategic setback. However, Washington DC’s unprecedented aggression against the entire world is the main reason why this is the case. Unfortunately, the US never even attempted to keep its unrelenting obsession with wars, death and destruction in check.

On the contrary, America has only become worse in this regard, as evidenced by its tendency to engage in everything from controlled chaos and piracy to direct invasions. This has led to the US now facing three nuclear-armed opponents in the Pacific – Russia, China and North Korea. Pyongyang is particularly determined to prevent any unprovoked American attacks. The gruesome war crimes and atrocities committed by the US military during the Korean War are still ingrained in the memory of millions of Koreans.

Translation: the city of Pyongyang was totally destroyed in 1951 during the Korean war

The reconstruction of Pyongyang

Namely, indiscriminate American bombing of population centers in North Korea left millions dead and wounded, prompting Pyongyang to ensure this never happens again. However, war criminals in Washington DC were determined to repeat this, including with nuclear weapons, both during the Obama and Trump administrations. Still, as North Korea acquired ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles), they “suddenly” realized it was better to negotiate, as the US mainland was now in jeopardy.

The underlying objective is Strategic Defense. North Korea lost more than a quarter of it population in the 1950-53 war.

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Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).