Nuclear reality is more than a ‘button’

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Trump boasted this week that they have the ability to launch nuclear weapons with the push of a button.

Trump — who said his is “bigger” — has no such button, and it is unlikely that Kim has one either, nuclear experts said. The reality of launching a nuclear war is more complex.

Even so, a U.S. president could launch nuclear weapons almost as quickly as if he had a button to press in the Oval Office.

“Right now, we could launch within 15 minutes around 800 nuclear warheads,” said Bruce Blair, a research scholar at the Program on Science and Global Security at Princeton University.

The system is designed with checks and balances to avoid inadvertent launches or improper orders.

U.S. military officials regularly train and review the procedures for a nuclear strike because of the enormous ramifications of such a decision.

“We think about these things a lot,” said Air Force Gen. John Hyten, who heads U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees the nuclear arsenal. “When you have this responsibility, how do you not think about it?”

Hyten said his job is to provide advice to the president, helping him ensure the response is in line with international law. “We’ll come up with options of a mix of capabilities to respond to whatever the situation is,” he said.

The system is streamlined, so nuclear missiles can be launched quickly once a decision is made.

If a strike were contemplated, the president would meet with advisers in the emergency operations center, a secure bunker under the East Wing of the White House, or he would convene a conference call if not in Washington.

The meeting would include about 15 people, including the Defense secretary and the national security adviser. The person briefing the president would be the head of Strategic Command, Blair said.

The nuclear “football,” a satchel carried by a military aide who is always near the president, contains documents that describe various nuclear options.