Last week, North Korean state media called President Trump a “hideous criminal sentenced to death by the Korean people.”
It’s not a clever threat. After all, here are five ways the U.S. could kill North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the event of imminent war.
1) Drop a bunker buster bomb on his head
Via a B-2 flight operating with fighter escorts from bases in Japan, South Korea, or the Western Pacific, the U.S. could drop a super-penetrating bomb on Kim’s head.
One problem: If Kim did survive such an attempt, he probably wouldn’t be in a good mood. That explains why decapitation strikes of this form tend to be used only on the eve of imminent war. The last example of such an effort was the March 20, 2003, airstrike against Saddam Hussein. It failed, although Delta Force secured Hussein in a rat hole nine months later.
2) Launch a ground force operation
Reports in the South Korean press suggest that U.S. and South Korean special operations forces have trained for capture-kill raids against Kim.
While any operation would only be carried out in the event of war, it might be more feasible than some presume. Consider that in a war situation, Kim would probably travel in a small group so as to mitigate any electronic and physical footprint that might be detected by allied intelligence platforms. In turn, if he was located, the outcome would likely be similar to what Osama bin Laden faced on May 2, 2011.
3) Recruit a North Korean assassin
Palm Beach, Fla., is nicer than Pyongyang.
Correspondingly, were CIA and South Korean National Intelligence Service targeting officers able to identify a greedy but perceivably loyal member of Kim’s circle, they might also be able to approach him or her on their next foreign trip. Perhaps with the offer of $35 million, a house in Palm Beach, and a lifetime membership to a Trump golf club, this individual might be willing to kill Kim.
The central difficulty here would be the assassin’s exfiltration. To get away, the assassin would probably have to use a slow acting agent.
Alternatively, were the U.S. or South Korea able to recruit a senior military officer to carry out the attack, that official might then be able to seize power after Kim died.
4) Introduce Kim to a thermonuclear reaction
The most extreme solution would be to launch a nuclear strike against Kim.
While this option would offer the highest probability of success, it would also risk many civilians being killed alongside Kim. At the same time, the international community would react negatively to any pre-emptive U.S. use of nuclear weapons.
5) Dennis Rodman
Imagine the scenario as an inebriated Dennis Rodman sings happy birthday to Kim.
The North Korean leader smiles, clapping with glee.
Suddenly, Rodman throws a basketball at Kim. The fat man smiles and catches it. BANG!
The insides of this basketball do not consist of layers of fiber, but of high-explosive material.
In favor of this plan is the fact that Rodman is one of Kim’s closest friends and could get close to him. In addition, as “Men in Black” informed us, Rodman is a Solaxiant alien, capable of surviving any human injury and able to escape retaliation by Kim’s bodyguards.
Ultimately, of course, hopefully none of these options ever become necessary. Nevertheless, for reasons of deterrence, it’s good that Kim knows he is vulnerable. And unfortunately for Kim, unlike Trump, he doesn’t have the protection of the U.S. Secret Service.
