Why?
There are 14 SSBNs. Nine are now deployed in the Pacific, and five in the Atlantic, with the transfer of the Louisiana and Maine from Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia, to Naval Submarine Base Bangor, Washington, in mid-2005. The current missile inventory is within two years1 of the 1994 NPR plan of 336 Trident II D5 SLBMs, for a total of some 2,000 warheads.
That's about 1,200 W76 and W88 warheads available for North Korean targets. And others as well, but range constrained to China and the eastern portion of Russia.
Then there's the B-52H assets based at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, and at Minot AFB, North Dakota and the B-2A assets based at Whiteman AFB, Missouri.
That's about 2,000 B61-7, B61-11, B83 and ALCMs equiped with B80-1 warheads available for North Korean targets. And others as well.
Then there's the 500 Minuteman III siloed in all the obvious places.
That's about 650 W62 and W78 warheads available for North Korean targets. And others as well.
So what is the cash value of non-strategic nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula? That was the third of three points made in the DPRK Foreign Ministry's Clarification of its Stand on New Measure to Bolster War Deterrent.
Is there anyone innumerate enough, outside of the Regime, who wants to play "Who's got pits?" with any other Regime, based on the military value of having some non-strategic assets deployed on, or not proven to have been removed from, the southern half of the Korean Peninsula?
What was the first of those three points? The DPRK-U.S. Agreed Framework. Heavy oil in exchange for shutting down some rubbish reactors, a deal Hugo Chavez could make in minutes, a deal Bill Clinton and Al Gore made, and a deal that George W. Bush and Dick Chenny unmade, plus diplomatic recognition, plus ... no nukes on the Korean Peninsula.
So if you're not taking your queues from Bolton, if you were writing policy for the next popularly elected government, would you (a) pursue sanctions and Article 7 powers (lawful belligerancy status), or (b) park the next available fully-laden Trans-Alaska Petroleum System (TAPS) vessel at Seonbong, call its cargo a humanitarian gift, queue up the next TAPS sailing, and announce the resumption of the DPRK-U.S. Agreed Framework?
1 Conversion of the Henry Jackson and the Alabama to Trident II D5 SLBMs will be completed in 2007 and 2008, respectively.