Options On North Korea

Nuclear tension. North Korea’s hydrogen bomb claim and how the United States and the world are responding.

The blast from North Korea’s Sunday nuclear weapons test was far stronger, experts say, than the bombs the United States used to destroy Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War 2. North Korea claims they tested a hydrogen bomb that could fit on an intercontinental missile. US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley says it’s time for every diplomatic effort. Says North Korea is “begging for war.” But such a war would have a hideous cost for the US and allies. This hour, On Point: Now what, with North Korea? — Tom Ashbrook.

David Sanger, National Security Correspondent for the New York Times. (@SangerNYT)

Barbara Demick, New York correspondent of the Los Angeles Times, formerly head of the bureaus in Beijing and Seoul. (@BarbaraDemick)

Keir Lieber, Professor of Security Studies at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.

The New York Times: U.S. Urges Fuel Cutoff for North Korea, Saying It’s ‘Begging for War’ — "The call for the fuel cutoff, which is expected to be part of a draft resolution that the United States is beginning to discuss privately with other members of the Security Council, came a day after North Korea’s most powerful nuclear test in the 11 years it has been detonating nuclear weapons."

CNN Money: What's Left To Sanction In North Korea After Its Big Missile Test? — "The last set of U.N. sanctions were approved less than a month ago, aiming to kill a billion dollars' worth of North Korean exports by hitting major industries such as coal, iron ore and seafood. But analysts warned at the time that the measures were unlikely to be enough to make Kim back down on North Korea's rapidly advancing nuclear weapons program. So what's left for Trump to go after?"

The Washington Post: The North Korean Chessboard: What Next For The Main Players? — "It's unclear whether Moscow and Beijing would go along with such punitive measures at the Security Council, though neither country ruled out new sanctions on Monday. But both the Chinese and Russian ambassadors to the United Nations reiterated that diplomacy and dialogue — not simply sanctions — were essential to calming tensions."