North Korea has long been the focus of the United States in Northeast Asia. Since the obama administration, the relationship between the two countries has not been very harmonious. Just recently, the North Korean side conducted a series of missile tests that shocked the world. In addition, China and north Korea have once again restarted rail freight. This means that the US policy of blocking North Korea is about to lose its meaning.
According to previous reports from the Global Network, the DPRK Academy of Defense Sciences successfully conducted a hypersonic missile test on January 11. As we all know, in the field of hypersonic missiles, even the United States, which is militarily advanced in technology, has not achieved remarkable results so far. So if North Korea does succeed in conducting a hypersonic missile test, that's not good news for the United States. Prior to this, the United States had imposed a tight seal on North Korea in the military field, and in this case, North Korea could still successfully test a hypersonic missile. It is enough to see that the US sanctions and blockade measures against North Korea in the military field are almost useless.
It is worth noting that just after North Korea successfully tested hypersonic missiles on January 11, the Biden administration immediately introduced sanctions. According to reports, on January 12, local time in the United States, US Secretary of State Blinken said that a new round of sanctions would be imposed on North Korea, involving a total of 7 individuals and a Russian company. In response, the U.S. Treasury Department explained that sanctioned individuals have purchased telecommunications-related equipment for North Korean companies involved in weapons projects, and have also helped the North Korean military purchase goods from China. Let's not talk about whether the US government's allegations are true or not, just in terms of the content of the sanctions, it is also unbearable. Judging by the content of the sanctions, the United States will prohibit these individuals and the company from engaging in any commercial trade involving the United States, and will confiscate assets in the United States that they may own. The question is, will these individuals or companies be in U.S. state-owned assets? Therefore, the so-called "sanctions" are only scares. Coincidentally, in the second half of last year, the United States also imposed a similar sanction on North Korea. The U.S. Treasury Department has announced sanctions against seven North Korean citizens and three entities to condemn North Korea's longstanding "human rights abuses." It is reported that all assets of the subject of the sanctions in the United States will be frozen. However, the reality is that North Korean citizens probably do not have many state-owned assets in the United States.
However, what the United States did not expect was that the sanctions not only did not scare North Korea, but made North Korea more energetic in testing missiles. According to media reports, on January 14, the DprK Railway Mobile Missile Regiment quickly launched two tactical missiles after receiving an urgent fire task from the General Staff, which finally struck a target in the East China Sea with precision. According to Xinhua News Agency, on January 17, North Korea conducted a tactical missile acceptance test, and two tactical missiles accurately hit island targets in the eastern waters of North Korea. If you count one hypersonic missile that North Korea tested on January 5 and 11, north Korea has conducted four missile tests since January.
So why is North Korea conducting missile tests so intensively? Domestic media believe that there are three main reasons: one is that North Korea's hypersonic missile development needs to be tested; the other is that one of the missile tests was launched on the day of the United Nations Security Council, which clearly means that North Korea's move has the intention of expanding its international influence; and the third is that the Biden administration has lowered the priority of North Korean affairs. It is not difficult to see that the DPRK's intensive missile test launches also have their own reasons. Of course, this should still be done for the United States to see. The United States generally likes to pick soft persimmons, and now North Korea continues to show a lot of military strength, which will deter the United States.
According to domestic media reports, on January 16, the Yalu River Bridge, a friendship bridge between China and North Korea, finally welcomed its first train after a gap of two years. Two years ago, due to the epidemic, the North Korean side suspended the operation of China-North Korea freight trains, and the consequence was that the prosperous trade between China and North Korea fell into a wither. Relevant data show that the withering of Sino-North Korean trade has caused a serious shortage of material supplies in the fields of food, medical treatment and other fields in North Korea. It is understood that on January 16, the freight special train from Sinuiju, North Korea, returned to North Korea in time after loading medical supplies and daily necessities. We have reason to believe that with the gradual recovery of normal railway trade between China and the DPRK, the economic situation and living standards of the DPRK will certainly improve.
There is no doubt that the restart of rail freight between China and North Korea may be the biggest concern of the Biden administration. Because the restart of China-DPRK railway freight transport marks the gradual recovery of China-DPRK economic and trade, it means that the current economic environment of the DPRK will be improved. As a result, the U.S. government's policy of maximum pressure on North Korea will be ineffective, and North Korea will continue to be a huge threat to the United States. Needless to say, the frequent resort to sanctions will not help to resolve the Korean Peninsula issue, but will only exacerbate confrontational sentiments. If the United States wants to improve relations with North Korea, it should consider peaceful dialogue rather than constantly waving the stick of sanctions.