Whoa! Blockade! That would be very serious indeed. Could be effective, too, IF the U.S. correctly guessed that the NORKs didn't have any hidden aces up their sleeve. However, for a blockade against North Korea to be successful it would have to have the wholehearted participation of China. I wonder if they would agree to that?

And even if the Chinese did agree, I simply can't imagine the current Administration attempting to carry out the naval end of such an operation without the agreement of the UN and a sizable contingent of like-minded nations to provide substantial assistance so as not to give anyone the impression the U.S. was acting "unilaterally."

I rather doubt there will be a blockade...a blockade is legally an act of war. I strongly suspect Obama is unprepared to declare what amounts to war on the Norks. As Ray points out, a blockade would be rather pointless anyway given that the Norks actually import very little by way of sea. The bulk of their imports come in from China.

Dax mentioned a 'serious military response" by the Obama administration in the face of a Nork missile launch. Not trying to be argumentative but I am curious as to just what sort of response he envisions. Maybe I am missing an obvious option that has occurred to him.

It used to be, during the Cold War, that nuclear power was the Great Mitigator which kept the Great Powers in check. Now, it seems, despite the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Agreement, any country can learn how to build and detonate a nuclear weapon. Just google it and ask the 'right' questions and you, too, can build the Bomb, given the right materials.

Does this make the threat of the launch of a high-range rocket anything more than passe? Or does it mean a new 'balance of power' wherein any nation can build and threaten the rest of the world through nuclear 'power?'

Where is the deterent in such a scenerio?

There remains a deterrent, Liz. Its just not as palatable to us. The Norks are a long, long way from nuclear parity with us or any other established nuclear power. The deterrent against the use of nuclear weapons remains the overwhelming response. Not so much Mutual Assured Destruction as it is Assured Unequal Destruction.

The serious military response I was speaking of is destroying the nuclear capability of North Korea.