Instead of telling him he has no clue and telling him to shut up why don't you explain to him why NK is a legit threat based on your knowledge and experience. I know being stationed over in Japan with the AF you might have a perspective that many of us don't regarding that area.
Fine. I was having a bad day and didn't have time to post much.
Several facts come to mind when discussing North Korea's threat.
First, they tested a long range missile in 1998 which overflew the Japanese mainland and landed in the Pacific. Quite obviously, they have some capability to construct long range missiles, and it's doubtful they have sat on their laurels congratulating themselves for that test five years ago.
Second, the CIA, normally more conservative in analysis than military sources (for various reasons), has publicly stated that the North Koreans likely possess one to two nuclear weapons, and it has been widely speculated that North Korean reprocessing of spent fuel rods could yield enough weapons-grade material for several additional weapons. North Korea has admitted publicly that they were operating an enriched uranium research project, and that they were/are reprocessing spent fuel rods.
Third, North Korea is widely regarded as the most common proliferator of ballistic missile technology in the world, which relates to the first point above. Recent stories coming from Iraq add more credence to that statement as well. The sale of SCUDs to Yemen a short while ago was additional proof. It seems plausible that such proliferation goes hand in hand with research. Such research could easily encompass nuclear warheads.
Fourth, Kim Chong-il is eccentric at best, a lunatic at worst. He is far from predictable, shows a daily disregard for the well-being of his people, runs perhaps the most repressive government ever to blacken the earth's surface, and has millions of troops and weapons poised just north of a city containing 25 million people (or thereabouts). His actions have already spurred the Japanese towards renouncing their peaceful Constitution or at least bending the rules enough to augment their military power. The prospect of Japan rearming scares the daylights out of the Koreans (both north and south), the Chinese (both red and blue), the Filipinos, and most other countries in Asia.
Fifth, and finally, there is no defense against intercontinental ballistic missiles in existence, aside from a system of very questionable ability around Moscow. There exist defences against suitcase nukes (cops, border patrol, Customs), short range missiles (Patriot PAC-3), cruise missiles (Patriot again and other SAMs), and bombers. It seems to me that there's a glaring omission in the defense against nuclear weapons which will be plugged by land- and sea-based defense systems like the SM-3 and AEGIS.
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