Face military might? That means war, and who wants war with N. Korea?
It’s pretty clear why the N. Koreans want nukes. I know they bluster about attacking the USA, but nukes are defensive in nature. A non-nuclear state is at a clear disadvantage against a nuclear one, but two nuclear states are stabilized by threats of mutual destruction, aka MAD.
In a sense, nuclear weapons limit and prevent war. That’s why we didn’t go head to head against the USSR so much as engage in proxy fights.
I don’t think a nuclear N. Korea means the USA gets nuked. They know we have the power to completely wipe them out with or without nukes. However, a nuclear N. Korea could retaliate against the US homeland, and even with near perfect “Star Wars” defenses, the USA could suffer severe damage. So that means—from a Nork perspective—they are finally secure.
I know we have no intention of ever attacking a non-nuclear N. Korea, but THEY don’t know that. That’s why they want the great equalizer: nuclear weapons. We just need to decide if it’s worth going to war to stop them, because that’s probably the only way they will be stopped at this point.
Agreed. I remember reading General MacArthur said he vomited when he saw what we did to North Korea.