The international security experts I’ve consulted offer estimates of the risk of war from 15 percent to more than 50 percent. First, the U.S. goal for North Korea — complete denuclearization — is implausible. Ever since, American presidents have likewise been periodically tempted to strike North Korea after one provocation or another, but have ended up showing restraint for fear of a cataclysmic war. North Korea just may be hinting in its latest statements that it is open to negotiations. So let’s try talking, rather than risk the first exchange of nuclear weapons in the history of our planet.

Source: New York Times November 30, 2017 00:00 UTC