This is a tough one.

Certainly North Korea with ICBMs poses a threat to the US homeland.

But what are the options for removing this threat?

Intensive conventional bombing? North Korea will bomb and invade South Korea before enough Americans can arrive to defend it. If the bombing continues even then, they launch on Okinawa, Japan and Taiwan.

Conventional air strikes, invasion? If the NK detect the kind of military build up necessary to create an invasion force, they will strike first. See above.

Tactical nuclear attack? I don’t know if this capability exists from ships. If it doesn’t, we would have to move them there. See above. Also the entire Korean peninsula is only about the size of 20% of California with a population density of about 873 per square mile. So many people in such a small space removes all meaning from the word “tactical.” It will simply be a nuclear strike with enormous casualties. Also, as soon as NK detects the attack, they will launch all the’ve got against anyone they can.

Full out nuclear attack? This will draw the same response mentioned above and the casualties will extend into China and Russia. Who can predict the Chinese and Russian responses?

I don’t see a workable plan. If I have missed an alternative, I’d like to hear it.

North Korea is certainly a danger as long as its current rulers survive, but that doesn’t mean we can actually do anything militarily about.

Go slow. Negotiate. Do everything possible covertly to bring down the regime. Once the first nuclear missile is fired, by either side, a very lethal genie is out of the bottle.