If no one has the will to stop it… yes. But Japan is a bad example because the US & Japan maintain mutual defense agreements. If it’s invaded the US will act.

There is a scenario where North Korea feels an invasion is imminent and uses short and medium range nuclear missiles against US bases, for example in Japan. With the calculation that this would nip any kind of invasion in the bud, and the US military might refrain from nuclear retaliation because North Korea would threaten the east coast with long range nuclear missiles.

But that kind of calculation "oh, the US won't have the stomach to fight a useless war if you hit them hard enough first" was exactly what doomed the Japanese Empire.

> because North Korea would threaten the east coast with long range nuclear missiles.

I don't think NK has currently credible launch systems to make it to the east coast (of the US)?

Also, the past century shows the US had the stomach to fight useless wars, so I'd hope NK has noticed that.

I sometimes get the two coasts confused, in this case because the west coast is east of North Korea...

In any case, the state and capability of their missile arsenal isn't widely known. The issue here is that it's not so much the will to fight an expensive war but rather to risk nuclear strikes at home just for the benefit of revenge on North Korea.

no they cant hit the east coast yet, but they could hit Seattle, Portland, Honolulu, Anchorage, possibly San Francisco. I would rather the west coast not glow in the dark thank you.

NATO is just one of the several defense alliances the US has. The US is basically the guarantor of security for a number of East Asian countries, Middle Eastern countries, you name it... We are not called the World's Policeman for nothing.