ISIL with nukes a bigger threat than North Korea: #tellusatoday

President Obama met last week with leaders from Japan, South Korea and China to discuss nuclear threats from North Korea. Letter to the editor:

I’m no psychologist, but common sense tells me that the first step in doing something is to say you’re going to do it. It seems that if a pipsqueak is ignored, he will only increase his misbehavior in order to gain our attention so as to be recognized as one of the big boys (“Obama meets with Asian leaders about North Korea nuke threat”).

Threats should always be taken seriously (especially from crazy people). I’d say, because we can’t send Kim Jong Un to bed without dinner, we stomp on him like a grape. In the words of that great philosopher Barney Fife: Nip it in the bud. Nip it!

David Timmerman; Nokomis, Fla.

Comments from Facebook are edited for clarity and grammar:

The biggest danger of Kim Jong Un having nukes is not him placing them on missiles but him giving them to Islamic State terrorists.

— Vincent Wolf

Unfortunately, we will have to wait for the next president to decide what to do with North Korea. This one will do zero.

— Frank Wilson Harding

Doing nothing is better than starting a nuclear war with a deranged dictator. Hopefully, the next president will be as tactful as our current one. What would you prefer, another quagmire war that creates another ISIL?

— Andrew Jason Neumann

Even if North Koreans had the ability to hit Washington with a nuclear warhead, they would never do it.

China has them on a leash, and their military is half-starved. Kim knows well that if he ever attacked Seoul or Washington, it would be the end of the Kim regime.

I pretty much think the American people can rest their heads at night without worrying about Kim actually going ahead with his threats. I, for one, will.

— Matthew Pettipas

North Korea is the most dangerous threat to U.S. national security. The country is run by an isolated kook whose main political agenda appears to be destroying the USA.

— Christopher Dunn

After the Nuclear Security Summit, we asked followers to share their security concerns regarding nukes. Comments from Twitter are edited for clarity and grammar:

That they would get into the hands of terrorists who are ready to destroy our nation.

— @JeffOstach

The increase of nuclear warheads in Pakistan.

— @GlowackiAdam

Iran obtaining weapons-grade uranium and North Korea having the technology to fire nuclear warheads.

— @Josh_Stalnaker

Not letting any more be built and eliminating the ones that exist.

— @David03404811

What if Trump should actually get control of our nukes? People should think long and hard about that one.

— @honestypreferre

For more discussions, follow @USATOpinion or #tellusatoday.