Remember, nuke deterrence works

David C. Kang, The New York Times: “Does anyone actually think that with another round of sanctions the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, will suddenly give up power and North Koreans will all become liberal democrats? ... Nuclear weapons are almost useless for coercion, but they are great for deterrence. ... The more pressure the U. S. puts on the North Koreans, the more likely they are to continue perfecting their missiles and nuclear weapons. In short, deterrence works, and neither North Korea nor the rest of the world is in danger of forgetting that.”

Jake Novak, CNBC: “It’s likely that the ( Group of 20 summit) wanted to talk mostly about trade and possibly the environment ( this weekend) in Hamburg. Funny what even a mildly successful ICBM test carried out by a rogue nuclear nation can do to upset even the best laid plans. ... President Trump has made it clear in recent months to anyone who didn’t already know that Chinese economic pressure is the key to forcing North Korea to back off. But as long as the Chinese believe the U. S. will never launch a military strike that truly destabilizes ( North Korea), Beijing sees sitting on its hands as a pretty good play.”

Adam Cathcart, CNN: “The North Koreans had waited for precisely the moment at which something predictable would happen: Namely, they waited for latent tensions in U. S.- China relations to make themselves apparent and then launched their missile. ... Only a few days ago, Trump had a long phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to Chinese state media, it was made clear to Trump that although some progress had been made on U. S.- China relations, there was still tension between the two superpowers, owing to ‘ negative factors.’ ”

Phar Kim Beng, South China Morning Post: “Every successful launch is accompanied by carefully stage- managed images showing huge outbursts of joy, not only by a Kim grinning ear to ear, but by the top military brass, too. ... These images of wild celebrations, of fists pumps and bear hugs, are beamed across the dour country, in an effort to get all citizens to partake in the joy of acquiring a potential nuclear deterrent. ... It is the only high that Kim can offer his people. ... Just like an addict, as the lows of his people get ever lower, so Kim finds he must respond with the only high he knows. Off goes another missile.”