The United States has ordered another Nimitz-class carrier to join the Carl Vinson in the sea close to North Korea. A big military buildup is underway. Donald Trump boasted in a talk with President Duterte that he had 2 nuclear-powered submarines prowling close to North Korea. These are lethal words but beneath them, the reality is different. General Mattis, a realist, understands this. He said that an attack on North Korea would be "tragic on an unbelievable scale". General Mattis knows that North Korea will react in a merciless way and mount an attack on south Korea.

They have the capability, and even if a single nuclear missile reached any target in South Korea, the effect would be terrible as reported by CNN International.

The USA and the North Korea

The US has over 2000 nuclear warheads and North Korea has approximately 10-15. But even a single nuclear warhead reaching its target could bring about a terrible upheaval. One is reminded of the famous tale from the Bible when Solomon destroyed the temples of the heathens, though he perished himself. Kim Jong-un could similarly see the destruction of North Korea but he could destroy South Korea as well. North Korea will no doubt be defeated, but it could bring a terrible vengeance on South Korea. Sadly, South Korea is most vulnerable with the city of Seoul having 10 million inhabitants just 38 km from the DMZ.

An artillery barrage from thousands of guns will certainly destroy the city and render millions homeless. A nuclear device would bring about a great calamity.

Opinion of Admiral Blair

Admiral Dennis Blair, former Director of National Intelligence during the term of Obama recently, in an address at the Harvard Club, said that there is no way a US strike could knock out the country's nuclear capability in a single strike.

This could cause a new war to break out, one that would require troops from the US to be on the ground in the dangerous country. In fact, it could be the beginning of another catasphropic war like many have seen in the past.

Last word

The US is trying to neutralize the nuclear capability by economic sanctions that don't seem to be working.

The US either has to accept North Korea as a nuclear power, or carry out a military strike. The last option looks almost insane. Lastly, one wonders why the USA never reacted with force when China went nuclear in 1964. Why is it picking on the nuclear nation? Is it because it is a small nation?