Analyst's note:  We would do well to remember our world history.  In doing so we would see that China sanctions all actions on the public stage by N. Korea.  This is the same China that entered Korea during the Korean war and contributed directly to the deaths of 54,000 Americans and wounding of 103,000 others. 

The situation we now face is not without significant danger to our nation.  There is reason to seriously question whether or not we are actually strategically prepared to protect our national interests in this matter now before us.  Our currentl economic and political situation would suggest that we are not.  Having already been to S. Korea, I can tell you that it is cold and bleak in the winter.  Semper Fidelis.

"[....] Like Iran, no sanctions and no threats of military reprisal have ever had any serious affect on North Korea.

Writing during the George W. Bush administration, Triplett said “There is no endgame strategy. North Korean aggression and provocations still go unpunished.” Together, the North Koreans and China “have successfully bogged any progress in endless diplomatic meetings and conferences while North Korea’s nuclear research marches on.”

America is in no position to fight another war on the Korean peninsula and is dependent on China (and Japan) to purchase its securities to keep its economy functioning in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis. America’s manufacturing base has largely been undermined by the transfer of many of our industries to China.

Americans have largely forgotten the threat of communism.

The latest North Korean attacks are China’s way of reminding the U.S. of its dilemma and dependence.[....]"