The barrage of hostile rhetoric and missile tests coming from Kim Jong-un's regime this year shows North Korea's intention to influence the outcomes of the South Korean general elections in April and the U.S. presidential election in November. These acts are obviously meant to aggravate tensions on the Korean Peninsula and frame the election narrative as a dichotomy of peace and war, pushing the government of Yoon Suk Yeol and the ruling party into a corner. As for the United States, the goal is to enhance the North's nuclear capabilities as much as possible, with the hope of resuming summit talks with Donald Trump, should he be re-elected president in November.