While South Korea begins its first official talks with North Korea in two years, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday the Trump administration is debating whether to conduct a "bloody nose" strike against Pyongyang in an effort to quash its nuclear ambitions.
At issue is whether the United States could conduct a limited air war targeting North Korean nuclear sites in response to some new weapons development milestone — a new bomb or missile test, for example — without sparking total war on the Korean Peninsula. The South Korean capital of Seoul, located a mere 35 miles from the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, would be particularly vulnerable to a retributory strike by a Kim Jong Un desperate to survive or take his enemies down with him.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The Nare Hotel: a charming hideaway on the Cornish coastThe Week Recommends Upgrade your classic seaside holiday at this five-star country house hotel
-
Today's political cartoons - March 6, 2025Cartoons Thursday's cartoons - weird science, Hoover's heels, and more
-
Gilbert & George and the Communists: an 'illuminating' look at the 'peculiar' world of the art duoThe Week Recommends The collaborative art pair's journey to Moscow in 1990 is chronicled in this 'excellent' book
-
Trump touts early wins in partisan speech to CongressSpeed Read The president said he is 'just getting started' with his sweeping changes to immigration, the economy and foreign policy
-
Trudeau blasts Trump's 'very dumb' trade warSpeed Read Retaliatory measures have been announced by America's largest trading partners following Trump's tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China
-
Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine after public spatSpeed Read Trump and J.D. Vance berated Volodymyr Zelenskyy for what they saw as insufficient gratitude
-
Trump's Mexico and Canada tariffs begin, roiling marketsSpeed Read Stocks plunged after Trump affirmed that the tariffs would take effect, sparking a likely trade war
-
Judge tells White House to stop ordering mass firingsspeed read The ruling is a complication in the Trump administration's plans to slash the federal workforce
-
Trump vows 25% tariffs on EU at Cabinet meetingSpeed Read The tariff threats serve to enhance a growing suspicion that the president views Europe as an adversary, not an ally
-
Trump proposes 'gold card' visas for rich immigrantsspeed read The president claimed the US will begin selling $5 million visas offering permanent residency
-
House passes framework for big tax and spending cutsSpeed Read Democrats opposed the GOP's plan for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and $2 trillion in spending cuts, citing the impacts it will have on social programs
