[As] long as North Korea can't nuke US soil, our nuclear deterrent is solid.
But if I was Japan, the moment North Korea gets nuclear missiles is the moment that such pledges aren't comforting enough. I'd have serious doubts that Washington would sacrifice Seattle to avenge the loss of Tokyo if Pyongyang still had nuclear missiles in reserve to threaten America.
Despite our sincere declaration, the Japanese would like something a little more than our pledge:
The United States on Saturday agreed with Japan to set up an official talks on ways to boost the nuclear deterrence it provides to protect Tokyo as tensions continue with North Korea, a senior official said.
The head of our delegation has started with more words:
"Our goal here is to make a very strong commitment to Japan about the fact that the nuclear deterrence of the United States are extended, the nuclear umbrella remains strong and stable, and our commitment to Japan is absolutely unshakable," he said in an interview with Japanese public broadcaster NHK.
There's that word "unshakable" again. Our words of assurance and their own nukes would work much better than our words alone. Especially in this age of reaching out to enemies and throwing friends under the bus.
