North Korea

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North Korea has promised "nuclear thunderbolts" and "all-out war," but any conflict between the US and Kim Jong Un's regime would likely be bloody and result in the near destruction of North Korea, unacceptable civilian losses in South Korea and possibly Japan, and the devastation of US military bases in the region by missile and artillery fire. None of the dozen or so North Korea experts contacted by Business Insider said large-scale military action against the regime was credible.

China must know this. North Korea, on some level, must know this. North Korea has repeatedly offered to scale back its nuclear program if the US stops its annual military drills with South Korea. The US has dismissed this, saying that planned, regularly occurring military exercises that have gone on for 40 years without leading to war can't be equated to a state that often threatens to nuke its neighbors.

Pence puts the US in a tough position against North Korea - Business Insider

"In China they’re very frustrated," said Town. "North Korea has progressed further than what they’re willing to accept" and the provocations coming out of North Korea make the relationship very difficult for the Chinese to manage. Though White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Monday that the burgeoning relationship between Xi and Trump has paid off, Town said that the US calling for China to simply shut off the Kim regime from trade is "a naive oversimplistic view of the situation." Town said it would be a mistake to assume that North Korea would react to China shutting off trade by crawling back to the table. North Korea could potentially find other trade partners, and even retaliate against China. "Floods of refugees, some kinds of military coup ... the Chinese aren’t ready yet to take those risks," said Town. But while Trump tries to force China's hand against North Korea, where their leverage may be been overestimated, he refuses to give an inch on the US's end.

US show of force toward North Korea may be 'adding fuel to the fire' - Business Insider