War with NK will be inevitable.

[stevenleser]

48. Have we lived with such threats before? I do not agree. There are at least two big differences

To wit:

- While we tended to think of the Soviet Union as a dictatorship with as Supreme Leader type, when it deemed it necessary, the leader was replaced. They did not have absolute power in the Soviet Union. The Kim family in North Korea, on the other hand, is an absolute dictatorship. What this means with regard to use of nuclear weapons is, if the General Secretary of the USSR gave a launch order or seemed to be heading in that direction, there was at least a possibility that the politburo could intervene to remove them. Who in North Korea could stand up to Kim? In the US, while there is no refusing the launch order, the cabinet could remove a President giving a launch order with the 25th amendment. If a President was on the road to going insane or acting lawlessly the congress could also impeach them. Again, there is no stopping Kim.

- The US and Soviet Union routinely reassured each other that there was firm command and control of each country's nuclear forces. There would be no rogue General/Admiral/Colonel etc. giving a launch order or selling nuclear weapons or material to a third party. There are zero such assurances with North Korea.

These two differences add a very dangerous dimension to attempting to live with a nuclear North Korea.