Unprecedented nuclear strikes of the invincible army

A realistic assessment of North Korea's operational nuclear capability

• Peter Hayes, Scott Bruce
• Nautilus Institute

Read the full text

23 September 2011

Peter Hayes, Professor, RMIT University and Executive Director of the Nautilus Institute and Scott Bruce, Director of the Nautilus Institute, San Francisco assess that North Korea's options for a nuclear strike are severely constrained—so much so that the only credible use of the DPRK’s nuclear arsenal is to detonate a bomb within North Korea itself to slow down or to stop an invasion in the context of an all-out war with the United States and South Korea. They conclude that, "In short, North Korea’s long range missile program is not a credible threat to the United States or anyone else for that matter, and is unlikely to be one for some time."