Renewed Calls For Civil Defense Programs After North Korea Nuclear Threat
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – It was a performance with a piercing finale – a North Korean musical production with video of a nuclear weapon hitting a US city, purportedly San Francisco.
Now the US is presenting this powerful political visual: All 100 senators invited to the White House for a presidential briefing on North Korea's nuclear threat, the same day as a nuclear attack drill at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
North Korea nuclear experts are now weighing in on what has suddenly seemed like a dangerous new nuclear threat.
"What's changed is there is a new administration which has brought a new tone and a new focus to the subject," said Josh Pollack, from Middlebury International Studies at Monterey.
The tensions have led two California congress members to suggest renewed civil defense practices.
It's a suggestion that brings back memories of the US Cold War days.
Pollack says it's not practical to return to these programs now
"There's not a heck of a lot you can achieve by that," Pollack said. "It's expensive. We never had much success with civil defense programs."
Pollack's advice for those concerned by the North Korean nuclear threat?
"Don't panic. It's a serious problem, but we have managed nuclear weapons without seeing them used since 1945," Pollack said.
Despite all the scary visuals, experts say diplomacy – not war – seems to be the current path.