The United States military is rapidly preparing for war with North Korea. Meanwhile so are Russia and China, but who are the two superpowers preparing for war with, the US or North Korea?

China recently sent droves of military equipment, medical personnel, and forces to regions surrounding the Yalu River, as seen below, in preparations for what appears to be a rapidly approaching catastrophe.

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Also, Russia just placed air defenses including S-400, S-300 and Pantsir-S systems on high alert for “drills.” According to the Russian Defense Ministry;

Within the framework of the final inspection during the winter training period, air defense units of the Aerospace Forces stationed in the Moscow Region have been put on high alert…S-300, S-400 and Pantsir-S air defense systems are taking part in the drills,” the ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the US is mulling over shooting down the next North Korean missile test, according to two sources, as quoted by the Guardian, who were briefed on the matter.

One US official said the prospective shoot-down strategy would be aimed at occurring after a nuclear test, with the objective being to signal Pyongyang that the US can impose military consequences for a step Donald Trump has described as “unacceptable.”

…Both sources said the military was not considering the use of a high-profile missile-defense system the US is providing to South Korea, known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD). Thad’s 200km range and sophisticated radar have unnerved China, whose president, Xi Jinping, has been coaxed by Trump into pressuring North Korea.

On the flip side, North Korea is warning of thermonuclear war. A senior North Korean official has accused the USA of turning the Korean peninsula into “the world’s biggest hotspot” and creating “a dangerous situation in which a thermonuclear war may break out at any moment.”

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To make matters worse, much worse, North Korea is threatening to test missiles weekly, whether or not they will carry those out, remains to be seen. However, one thing is sure the next missile test is expected to take place on or around April 25th, 2017, the day the North Korean military marks the anniversary of its founding.

Only time will tell just how all of this plays out, but one thing is certain, with tensions this high around the world, if cooler heads cannot prevail and soon, the likelihood of war grows ever more prevalent.

North Korea has drastically increased in military might as of late, but there may be a reason Russia is shouting at the US rather than the hermit state, oil. In 2014, Russia wiped away roughly 90%, or $10 Billion, of North Koreas debt and why? Russia made the deal to build a gas pipeline to South Korea across the reclusive state.

The State Duma lower house on Friday, Apr 18, 2014, ratified a 2012 agreement to write off the bulk of North Korea’s debt. It said the total debt stood at $10.96 billion as of Sept. 17, 2012.

Both Russia and China are lifelines to North Korea, but China is blocking imports from North Korea. Enter Russia:

“On Monday (March 6th, 2017) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “Of course, we are profoundly concerned. These actions lead to further escalation of tensions in the region. In this situation, Moscow traditionally calls on all parties to show restraint. Russia will exchange views with all parties concerned,” reports Russian state news agency TASS. Russia publically acknowledged it plans to discuss the North Korean situation with Japan.”

Being that the two world superpowers play a role in aiding the hermit state, and the fact that both countries are actively harassing the US deployment of ships is it possible a global crisis could spark from the Korean crisis? Only time will tell, but what is evident, is the fact that there is a much bigger plan at play here. What say you reader?

Works Cited

Sputnik. “Russia Puts Moscow Air Defenses on High Alert.” Sputnik. . (2017): . .

Spencer Ackerman in New York and Justin McCurry in Tokyo. “US military considers shooting down North Korea missile tests, sources say.” The Guardian. . (2017): . .

Justin McCurry in Tokyo and agencies. “North Korea warns 'thermonuclear war could break out at any moment'.” The Guardian. . (2017): . .

Al Jazeera and news agencies. “North Korea on 'maximum alert' after US threats.” Aljazeera. . (2017): . .

ERIC TALMADGE, ASSOCIATED PRESS. “After North Korea's big parade, what's next?” ABC News. . (2017): . .

Richard Sisk. “US Warns of Response to Any North Korean Nuke Test.” Military.com. . (2017): . .

Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Peter Graff. “Russia writes off 90 percent of North Korea debt, eyes gas pipeline.” Reuters. . (2017): . .

L. Todd Wood. “Trump-Russia deal taking place over North Korea.” Washington Examiner. . (2017): . .

Ellie Flynn. “'ALL OUT WAR' North Korea warns ‘nuclear war could break out at any moment’ as country vows to test missiles WEEKLY.” The Sun. . (2017): . .