Do you think that the US will (or should) bomb North Korea?

[It'sAutomatic]

I dunno wtf the long-term plan would be there. Afghanistan and Iraq were disasters and NK would be worse.

[ColoradoOnMyMind]

The last thing we need is nuclear war, the second last thing we need is to spends trillions in another war against a country of no significant importance to us. We need an outside the box solution

[Mircea]

Originally Posted by Gaylenwoof

Would this be likely to trigger nuclear explosions, even if we don't actually drop any nukes ourselves?

I'm guessing North Korean nuclear weapons do not have conventional safeguards, such as Permissive Action Links (PAL). Even so, the odds are astronomical that nuclear warhead would detonate during an attack. The worse case scenario would most likely be a partial collapse of the core, resulting in a "cook-off" that would produce localized extreme heat and some radiation.

Originally Posted by Xpat

The real question is, are you ready for a war with China?

China might go to war for any number of reasons, but North Korea isn't one of them.

Originally Posted by pennyone

China will carry out decapitation and occupation of NK before any us attack.

No, they won't.

Originally Posted by greywar

Heres the problem. If we attack North Korea first, China has made it clear they will defend them.

China is bluffing.

Originally Posted by Gaylenwoof

I'm wondering how much of a threat his missiles really are. Can't we detect missile launches and knock out the missile before it reaches us? What are the odds of an ICBM from NK actually hitting an American target?

Missile launches are not always detected on the pad, rather they are discovered in-flight. It takes time to calculate the missile's trajectory to determine the target.

The US ABM system's performance has been anything but stellar.

An attacker doesn't necessarily need to hit a ground-based target. Three well-placed 400 kt warheads detonated 85 miles above the Earth's surface would generate an electro-magnetic pulse destroying the electrical, telecommunications and transportation infrastructure of the US and parts of southern Canada and northern Mexico, leaving the US paralyzed for decades, and probably causing the deaths of nearly 300 Million Americans.

Originally Posted by Gaylenwoof

Just curious: Is there (or are we are considering) a military blockade of NK?

If the economic sanctions fail, then I would support a military blockade of North Korean ports.

Originally Posted by Casper in Dallas

So we start a war because the other nation might start one?

Technically, you're sill at war. All you have in place is a cease-fire agreement. North Korea's goal continues to be conquest of the South, and nuclear weapons only helps further that goal.