Note:
I meant to imply...if they should get ballistic missile technology capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
My thinking is these rogue nations do not need our conventional method of nuclear technology. No need for high megaton weapons that need powerful launch missiles. What I think is being developed is EMP technology. I don’t think it needs a large nuke to trigger the EMP. Such would not need a warhead design strong enough to reenter earth’s atmosphere (as I describe below). A conventional weapon needs a strong warhead to reenter the earth’s atmosphere so it can send an air compression wave form over the surface, doing the destruction. This is how an audio speaker works and without an atmosphere, it is worthless.
Come the EMP weapon. Just launch it into space over the United States. It does not need to come down with the difficulty of reentry temperatures. Such a weapon just gets to its destination quickly and sends an electromagnetic pulse. Intercepting these will be difficult. It is much like a high powered radio signal, which is also the same type of electromagnetic emission. In fact, new technology EMP employs high powered microwaves which can be sent with cruise missiles. In North Korea’s case, just getting a missile over the United States is good enough for EMP. A nuclear powered EMP pulse will do the job right nicely. No more anything that runs on semiconductors once it goes off.