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Welcome to The Adversarial. Every other week, we’ll provide you with expert analysis on America’s greatest challengers: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and jihadists. Read more below.***North KoreaIn the past few weeks, North Korea has issued threats against the United States and South Korea, revised its unification policy, and fired artillery shells near its disputed border with the South. In a significant shift that affects inter-Korean relations, leader Kim Jong Un declared that North Korea’s longstanding policy goal of unification (one nation, two systems) will be dropped. In a subsequent speech while touring a munitions factory, Kim labeled South Korea the North’s “principal enemy.” The turn away from unification and toward hostile rhetoric could justify military actions against the South. Kim further warned that “war may break out on the Korean peninsula,” and “the Korean People’s Army [may need] to subjugate the whole territory of the south” if the United States and South Korea “attempt a military confrontation.” Kim later instructed the army to “use all of our super-powerful means … to strike a crushing blow and destroy” the United States and South Korea if needed.Following the inaugural launch of North Korea’s first military satellite in 2023, Kim announced that three additional surveillance satellites will be launched this year. These satellites could embolden North Korea by improving its nuclear targeting and supporting tactical operations with real-time imagery intelligence.In early January, North Korea fired hundreds of artillery shells over three days into a disputed maritime waterway along its border with South Korea, prompting return shots from the South. Kim Yo Jong, sister of the North’s ruler, later claimed that the blast was a ruse, a contention denied by the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. If the past is prologue, North Korea is likely to increase provocations around the South Korean National