Free Republic

North Korea recently test-launched a long-range missile capable of reaching Alaska. When North Korea eventually builds a missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, it will double down on its well-known shakedown of feigning indifference to American deterrence while promising to take out Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle unless massive aid is delivered to Pyongyang. Kim Jong Un rightly assumes that wealthy Western nations would prefer to pay bribe money than suffer the loss of a city -- and that they have plenty of cash for such concessions. He is right that the medicine of taking out Kim's missiles...

South Korea has had no discussions whatsoever with the United States about a preemptive strike on North Korea, Seoul's ambassador to Washington said. Amb. Ahn Ho-young made the remark during a parliamentary audit of his embassy on Saturday as talk of removing North Korea's nuclear facilities through a military strike has surfaced in the U.S. in the wake of Pyongyang's fifth nuclear test. "We've had no such discussions at least here in Washington," Ahn said during the audit held at the embassy. "We've never received a request from the U.S. government for discussions about a preemptive strike." Last month, an...