P!
I have read or seen reports that the Russians in charge of the missiles that had been moved into Cuba had the “operational” authority to launch them. Additional, the missiles were operational and were able to be launched.
Castro was screaming and pressuring the Russians to launch and had the Russians complied, America would have been nuked. It is unknowable if a world wide exchange with Russia would have ensued or if it would have been a “limited” exchange.
The point of all of this is that CASTRO would have launched if he could have. I don’t know if he had bunkers he thought he could have survived in, or had a temporary escape plan to flee Cuba until he could return. Who knows.
Bottom line, the missiles were operational and could have been launched. We were “lucky” the Russian in charge in Cuba was sane, or at least, followed the chain of command.
That is NOT the situation in N.K.!!!
Think of how much a war on the Korean peninsula would change the political landscape, both national and international.
Might this be a more elaborate "Gulf of Tonkin" scenario?
I'm not sure, but I know we'll find out soon enough.