{"id":88652,"date":"2026-07-16T15:57:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T15:57:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/88652\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T15:57:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T15:57:24","slug":"the-coming-crisis-with-north-korea-global-security-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/88652\/","title":{"rendered":"The Coming Crisis with North Korea \u2014 Global Security Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Published: July 16, 2026<\/p>\n

Is North Korea winning? Along with the country\u2019s expanding nuclear arsenal and delivery systems, North Korea continues to develop and\u00a0demonstrate\u00a0expertise\u00a0in cyber and space warfare that soon may threaten U.S.\u00a0vital interests and complicate the broader competition between great powers. North Korea\u2019s deepening ties with Russia, including valuable lessons gained from its participation in Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine, will further embolden an already aggressive regime. While each of these developments has been analyzed individually, their cumulative strategic implications have received far less attention.\u00a0A\u00a0comprehensive assessment\u00a0is overdue. The world needs\u00a0to understand how North Korea\u2019s advancing nuclear, missile, conventional, cyber, and space capabilities, along with its growing strategic partnership with Russia, will influence the regional and global security environment in the coming decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n

North Korea has proven\u00a0to be\u00a0adept at using its cyber capabilities to evade or mitigate the effects of economic sanctions. The\u00a0theft of cryptocurrency<\/a>\u00a0and other assets from financial institutions\u00a0has\u00a0evolved into a complex and sustained effort. Pyongyang\u2019s strategy now includes penetrating Western firms that unknowingly hire\u00a0North Korean IT workers<\/a>. North Korea has been able to generate billions of dollars from these activities,\u00a0both through<\/a>\u00a0earned income and the theft of intellectual property, and the funds are then used to finance the regime\u2019s missile and nuclear programs: a lose-lose proposition for the U.S.\u00a0and its allies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At present, Western governments are struggling to respond to these challenges even as\u00a0China and Russia<\/a>\u00a0continue to provide North Korea with cyber-related training and support. Coordinated cyber operations between these three powers will be a logical outgrowth. Accurate and\u00a0timely\u00a0attribution of cyberattacks is already challenging. In a crisis or conflict, North Korea could serve as a proxy for China and Russia to\u00a0leverage\u00a0against the\u00a0U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n

North Korea has\u00a0recently\u00a0shown an interest in developing military capabilities in space. This includes surveillance and so-called \u201ccounterspace capabilities<\/a>\u201d to inhibit an adversary\u2019s assured access to space. Russia is increasingly providing North Korea with space-related\u00a0expertise<\/a>, including launch infrastructure and launch\u00a0assistance. With ongoing Russian support, North Korea could achieve significant technological breakthroughs that typically take other countries decades. It\u00a0remains\u00a0uncertain what restrictions Moscow is willing to impose on technology transferred to Pyongyang. Considering North Korea\u2019s willingness and\u00a0history of proliferation<\/a>, the\u00a0U.S.\u00a0might face new threats from other states seeking counterspace capabilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The U.S.\u00a0is dependent on assured access to space for the functioning of its economy and to conduct military operations. Thanks to its missile program, North Korea could\u00a0seek\u00a0to develop a capability to knock out\u00a0U.S.\u00a0satellites. Additionally, North Korea has shown interest in using nuclear weapons at high altitudes\u00a0to generate an electromagnetic pulse<\/a>\u00a0(EMP) to negate\u00a0U.S.\u00a0technological dominance. Because North Korea does not rely on space as the\u00a0U.S.\u00a0does, these developments would give the regime significant leverage in a future confrontation. As in the\u00a0cyber domain, China and Russia may\u00a0leverage\u00a0North Korea as a deniable proxy actor in space to threaten or attack\u00a0U.S.\u00a0interests.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the\u00a0U.S.\u00a0watches from the sidelines, North Korea continues to develop weapons of mass destruction (WMD) as well. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has\u00a0stated<\/a>\u00a0that the regime\u00a0has recently\u00a0added infrastructure at its Yongbyon complex, which will allow it to increase the yearly production of nuclear warheads. North Korea is developing and testing a wide range of missiles, including\u00a0hypersonics<\/a>, some of which can hold the\u00a0U.S.\u00a0homeland at risk. North Korea is\u00a0expected<\/a>\u00a0to have 50 intercontinental ballistic missiles by 2035. Worse yet, as North Korea\u2019s nuclear-tipped ballistic missile arsenal grows, the existing\u00a0U.S.\u00a0missile defense architecture is at risk of being overwhelmed and becoming obsolete.\u00a0Golden Dome for America<\/a>\u00a0could strengthen homeland defense against North Korea by improving missile detection, tracking, and interception. As Pyongyang expands its missile arsenal, a layered and expanding missile defense architecture could diminish North Korea\u2019s nuclear strike credibility and boost U.S. resilience.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While significant emphasis is placed on analyzing North Korea\u2019s nuclear weapons program, it is important to highlight that the regime is believed to\u00a0possess\u00a0a significant\u00a0biological and chemical weapons<\/a>\u00a0capability. Biological and chemical weapons provide an adversary with deniability. Continued investment in production and research\u00a0infrastructure<\/a>\u00a0indicates\u00a0the regime values these asymmetric capabilities despite international tones and laws. In February 2017, Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korea\u2019s leader Kim Jong Un, was\u00a0assassinated<\/a>\u00a0in the Kuala Lumpur International Airport after being exposed to the VX nerve agent. North Korea\u2019s ability to produce biological and chemical weapons at an industrial scale, along with its proliferation history and willingness to employ such weapons, presents significant challenges for the\u00a0U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For decades, observers have confidently declared that North Korea is on the verge of collapse. Yet, despite years of domestic, economic, and geopolitical sanctions, the regime has not only survived but also thrived in measurable ways. Throughout its history, North Korea has shown a tendency for brinkmanship, coercion, and deception to achieve its goals. Furthermore, Kim Jong Un has integrated the proliferation of military technology, cyber-enabled theft, and\u00a0sanctions\u00a0evasion into his broader strategy for sustaining the regime and advancing its military modernization programs. Supported by China and Russia, North Korea has moved from being an isolated rogue state to a dangerous regional power with proxy potential. If Pyongyang effectively combines its growing cyber, space, and WMD capabilities into a coordinated denial and coercion strategy, the\u00a0U.S.\u00a0may have limited options during a crisis or conflict.\u00a0Given the high stakes, Washington must holistically reevaluate its goals,\u00a0objectives, and means toward Pyongyang before it is too late. The\u00a0U.S.\u00a0must ensure that North Korea cannot succeed in coercing the world, threatening the\u00a0U.S.\u00a0homeland, or fundamentally altering the strategic balance in Northeast Asia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nathan A. Heard is a doctoral student in the Defense and Strategic Studies Program at Missouri State University, focusing on deterrence and strategic competition. Heard holds a master\u2019s degree in defense and strategic studies and a graduate certificate in countering weapons of mass destruction from Missouri State University, as well as undergraduate degrees in business and information systems management. He authored the December 2025 graduate thesis,\u00a0\u201cA Novel\u00a0Deterrence Strategy: Denial Through Space and Cyberspace.\u201d\u00a0The views expressed in this article are solely his own.<\/p>\n

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