Mick Hartley

No, the US isn't about to launch a nuclear attack on North Korea, giving Pyongyang a bloody nose. But, according to Foreign Policy magazine, they are planning a cyber war:

As North Korean leader Kim Jong Un flaunts his nation’s strides in missile development, the U.S. government for the past six months has covertly begun laying the groundwork for possible cyberattacks on North Korea in countries including South Korea and Japan. This process involves installing fiber cables as bridges into the region and setting up remote bases and listening posts, where hackers may attempt to gain access to a North Korean internet that’s largely walled off from external connections.

Preparations for a cyberattack reflect a larger issue: America’s spies are pivoting the magnifying glass, funneling much of the weight of billions of dollars in technical infrastructure and trained professionals toward Pyongyang, current and former intelligence officials told Foreign Policy….

“The Administration has made North Korea a top priority, and the CIA established its Korea Mission Center to harness the full resources, capabilities, and authorities of the Agency to address the threat posed by Kim Jong Un and his regime,” CIA spokesman Jonathan Liu wrote in an email. “We shift resources as appropriate to tackle our most pressing challenges.”

Included in this new initiative will be a focus on targeting North Korea's heavy use of cryptocurrency. Pyongyang has reportedly been hacking Bitcoin exchanges, to evade international sanctions.

Soften them up with sanctions, and then target their area of greatest vulnerability – the increasingly fragile ideological stranglehold that the Kim regime maintains over its population.

It's a good strategy – as long as the appeasement instincts of South Korean President Moon can be held in check.