Sir,
Nearly everyone would agree with Phil Fletcher (Mailbag 15th April) that Kim Jong Un needs to be stopped, but stating the obvious is easier than suggesting how to do it. To compare that irresponsible isolationist dictator to the Soviet Union is absurd since North Korea is totally different to the Soviet Union at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
It needs to be remembered that the Soviets were about to remove their nuclear missiles from Cuba and President Kennedy’s action merely brought this forward by a few days. Much more importantly is the fact that the captain of the doomed Soviet submarine thought a nuclear war had started and was minded to launch a nuclear weapon. It was the Political Officer Vasili Arkhipov who prevented this and the entire world owes an enormous debt of gratitude to this man who probably saved us all from a nuclear catastrophe.
I conclude by another obvious statement: ISIS is far more of a danger than North Korea and its removal needs to be prioritized over any action against Kim Jong UN.
Michael Nightingale
