The Limits of a Limited Strike

North Korea's rapidly improving nuclear arsenal poses an intractable problem: should the United States accept the new reality of a nuclear-armed North Korea with intercontinental reach, or should it pre-emptively strike Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and missiles?  The Telegraph reports that the Trump administration is considering strikes against North Korea to “get their attention and show that we're serious.”  Captain Dave Adams, U.S. Navy (Retired), in a recent Proceedings Today commentary , advocated “limited strikes” on North Korea to “escalate to de-escalate,” and demonstrate U.S. resolve. Similarly, Oriana Skylar Mastro, an Asia-Pacific specialist at Georgetown University, writes that some of her South Korean interlocutors believe that “the United States could conduct a limited surgical strike and North Korea's response would be minimal,” because Kim Jong Un should fear rationally that escalatory retaliation against overwhelming U.S. and South Korean military power could lead to the end of his regime.