The great problem in knowing whether North Korea is about to explode is in judging which words to take seriously and which to ignore. For years, leaders of the world’s only Communist family dynasty have threatened to drown South Korea, the US and Japan in a lake of fire. Past US presidents have shrugged off these threats and worked behind the scenes with China and South Korea to find safe ways to tighten pressure on the regime. But things have changed, and it’s now time for the world to pay closer attention. There are two important changes. First, US President Donald Trump is less willing than his predecessors to handle things quietly. Instead, Trump has approached North Korea with warships and threatened to "solve" North Korea, with or without Chinese help. He has also said he’ll be willing to meet with Kim Jong-un. Depending on what happened in that hypothetical meeting, either a negotiated settlement or war might become more likely. The second difference is much more important. I...
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