Taepodong Means "Starting Trouble" in Korean

A nuclear threat from North Korea did not immediately follow serious U.S. rhetoric about striking first against a ready-to-test Taepodong II missile. Only today has the Associated Press reported on North Korea's willingness to fight a nuclear war if the U.S. strikes the North Korean missile on the launch pad. It appears that if the U.S. had any plan to launch a first strike against the North Korean missile, its hesitation has given its enemy time to devise a strategy for preventing it. While it is easy to say that the U.S. should have immediately struck the missile to keep the North Koreans off guard, it is difficult to say that they would not have launched a nuclear attack then as they are threatening that they would do now if the U.S. attacks. What is absolutely clear is that stakes are at their highest. The U.S. cannot allow North Korea to launch the missile without allowing that there is an influential North Korean military pre-eminence in the region. However, if the U.S. is prepared to strike, then it must be prepared to strike multiple targets to prevent North Korea from lashing out at its neighbors. If the U.S. does that, then the intention is clear: the truce is broken and anything is possible.