The Week in Review: What You Need to Know About North Korea

By Todd Norman
North Korea and Donald Trump are buzzwords that have been hitting top searches over the past several weeks. So what's the story? What's going on? Most of all, what is it that we need to be ready for?

In the last several days, things have simmered down just a bit in the news. There has still been talk about war with North Korea, and talk of nuclear attacks, but so far its been just that. Talk.

Up to this point most of the hype around North Korea has focused around a few statements and actions made from and by the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, and from President Donald Trump.

This war of words, so to speak, began with a threat from the North Korean Government when they announced that plans were in the works to launch several nuclear missiles near Guam if there was any US provocation.

In response President Trump responded stating that North Korea would be met with "fire, fury, and frankly power".

Both sides continued to escalate in words, sending warnings back and forth. China also got involved, with sources there stating that North Korea would be on its own if it attacked the US. Being an official ally, though, they would almost certainly take their side in other circumstances.

This became a week long banter, back and forth, between two countries who didn't really want to go to war. The one thing we are fairly certain of is that Kim Jong-un does want to protect himself and if he feels threatened he would be capable of trying an attack.

In the end North Korea backed off of their threats (or at least felt they made a strong enough statement), and the tides have more or less settled for the time being. That doesn't mean we should put our guard down though.

As individuals it may seem at times that there isn't much we can do in situations like this, we can however take care of ourselves and those close to us.

Being ready and prepared is a lifestyle choice. Preparing for an emergency can't effectively happen during an emergency. What could we do now to prepare for future concerns and threats from other countries?

This all starts with preparation now. Here are a few ideas of things to help you be more prepared now.

#1 Stay up to date on national and international news; know what could affect you.

#2 Build up a food and water storage. In an emergency food and water may come into short supply.

#3 Have a first aid kit on hand, it may be hard to run to the store to get anything you need.

#4 Have a grab and go bag, AKA, a "bug out bag." This should have essential supplies and a change of clothes in case you need to leave your home.

The great thing about preparation is it can be an ongoing process. Start now by picking up some extra food when you go shopping. Begin setting aside money to have on hand. Being able to be independent is a good way to be prepared in an emergency situation.

Listening to the news and hearing stories like the one we heard this week about North Korea gives us reminders that we live in a volatile world at times, and should take time to prepare.
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