[jfengel]

The US doesn't want to invade North Korea. North Korea is a Chinese ally. China doesn't want the US on its border. North Korea doesn't need its own nukes to keep the US out.

At least, that was true. Here in 2026, nobody can say what the US will do with its military. Its goals are opaque and its actions often self-defeating.

Even so, if the US invades North Korea, NK's nukes won't be the most important thing. It would instantly become a US/China conflict with much, much, much larger stakes.

[fakedang]

But the fact of the matter is, in the event the US does invade North Korea, Rocketman has the option to launch nukes at the US - something that the US knows, hence it won't do anything about. Nukes also give NK more optionality, instead of being a territorial buffer state for the Chinese.