Within the past month or so, tensions between the U.S. and North Korea have been getting increasingly taut, as leader Kim Jong Un has made various threats of launching a medium-range ballistic missile toward South Korea. U.S. government officials have stated that they do in fact have technology in place to intercept missiles fired from North Korea.

Is it safe to say that U.S. military bases in the Pacific are safe or are we being naïve?

Well, as of now, it is hard to tell.

The real question is, will we be safe in the near future? North Korea may launch a missile in the future, and the U.S. military will most likely be able to stop it from hitting its intended target, which could be anywhere in South Korea or even in Guam or Japan, where U.S. soldiers are currently stationed. If we want to know if we will be safe, we have to look at all of the facts.

First, let’s figure out why Kim Jong Un is sending threats in the first place. It seems that these threats are a part of a bigger scheme. He wants to harm South Korea’s economy and sign a peace treaty that will allow the armistice line to be lifted, while allowing North Korea to keep building its forces. Essentially North Korea is a starving country, so it seems as if he might want to actually change that—does he?

Now hold on a second: does this not remind you of a German dictator who wanted the League of Nations out of his business so he could build his army and weapons?

Now maybe this is far-fetched, but maybe it isn’t. Aren’t we naïve to think that Kim Jon Un, an easily-tempered young man who has nuclear weapons and an entire army at his disposal, won’t try to start WWIII? Now, that doesn’t mean we won’t be able to stop him if we are ready. By no means do I believe that the U.S. doesn’t have the power to stop him, it’s just a matter of whether or not we are strategically smart enough to do so.

Do we give in to his threats and give him what he wants? Do we ignore him? Do we negotiate? Or do we start an all-out war with North Korea. Our future depends on the steps the U.S. government takes on handling Kim Jong Un from here on out.