Operation "Absolute Resolve"

Even during the ousting of Maduro, experts believed that North Korea might not perceive this as a “direct threat.” This was based on the assessment that the Maduro regime, lacking strategic weapons—such as nuclear capabilities—to threaten the United States and having no allies, was fundamentally different from North Korea. Instead, they predicted that North Korea would deter “ultra-hardline military operations” by the United States through the advancement of its nuclear capabilities. However, given that an operation to “wipe out” the Iranian leadership—which had amassed significant nuclear capabilities—has become a reality, North Korea is expected to seek countermeasures from a different perspective than it did during the Maduro crisis. This is because if President Trump assesses that the North Korean nuclear threat is “serious” or that “we cannot communicate with North Korea,” the likelihood of the Iranian scenario being replicated in North Korea has increased significantly.