Action on North Korea

SIR – Admiral Lord West (Letters, July 8) says the Americans have “made it clear that they would never allow the North Koreans to develop an ICBM with a fully functioning nuclear warhead”. He adds: “the US military has a series of operational plans to remove the North Korean nuclear capability”.

“As a key member of the UN Security Council” he concludes, “defusing the situation should be our top priority”.

Few would disagree. But dictators are not easily dissuaded; mad dictators least of all. With Kim Jong-un behaving as he is, “defusing the situation” sounds a bit like stopping Hitler taking over Europe without actually going to war. Richard Shaw

Dunstable, Bedfordshire