The Atlantic

Is 'Self-Restraint' Really All That's Stopping a War With North Korea?

The potential for catastrophic consequences is much more important than forbearance in preventing war.
Source: KCNA / Reuters

North Korea’s announcement Tuesday that it had test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a weapon that could potentially be fitted with a nuclear device, drew widespread condemnation around the world and prompted General Vincent Brooks, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea, to say: “Self restraint, which is a choice, is all that separates armistice and war.”  

Notwithstanding the Trump administration’s pledge that it will not allow North Korea to obtain nuclear weapons that can reach parts of the United States as well as its assertion that all options remain on the table when dealing with the regime in Pyongyang, the options to deal

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Atlantic

The Atlantic7 min read
Every Time You Post to Instagram, You’re Turning on a Light Bulb Forever
One evening in the spring of 2015, I filmed a 15-second video out the window of an Amtrak train as it rattled across the barren flatlands of southern New Jersey. There’s nothing artful or interesting about the clip. All you see is a slanted rush of w
The Atlantic8 min read
How Labour Defeated Populism
They didn’t use emotional slogans. They tried not to make promises they can’t keep. They didn’t have a plan you can sum up in a sentence, or a vision whose essence can be transmitted in a video clip. They were careful not to offer too many details ab
The Atlantic9 min read
Why Tucker Carlson Thinks Australia Is Being ‘Taken Away’
On Monday, Tucker Carlson wrapped up the seventh in a series of speeches to right-wing Australian audiences. To attend the event, I had to walk under a bright-pink sign acknowledging that the “traditional owners” of the Melbourne Convention and Exhib

Related Books & Audiobooks