The only way to locate and secure all of North Korea's nuclear weapons is by putting boots on the ground. That's the word from the Pentagon, which, in a letter responding to lawmakers, explained that only all-out invasion could ensure that all of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's nuclear weapons are taken under American control. The Pentagon also warned that such a war could involve the use of biological and chemical weapons.

Rear Adm. Michael J. Dumont, the vice director of the Pentagon's Joint Staff, explained in a letter to Congress that ground invasion is the only way to grab every North Korean nuclear weapon "with complete certainty." The admiral was responding to a request from Congressional representatives Ted Lieu and Ruben Gallego for casualty estimates in a conflict with North Korea, including civilians, U.S., and allied forces in South Korea, Japan, and Guam.

The letter did not directly answer the lawmakers' questions about a hypothetical death toll, stating that estimates were difficult to calculate. According to The Washington Post, Dumont said casualties would depend on the "nature, intensity, and duration" of a North Korean attack; how much warning civilians would have to get to the thousands of shelters in South Korea; and the ability of U.S. and South Korean forces to respond to North Korean artillery, rockets, and ballistic missiles with their own retaliatory barrage and airstrikes.

Kim Jong un, at an "undisclosed location" (probably underground) reviewing the Korean People's Army Strategic Force. KCNA Getty Images

At 46,541 square miles, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as North Korea calls itself, is just slightly larger than Ohio. However, North Korea's nuclear and missile locations are scattered and hidden all over the largely mountainous country. Many are underground or suspected to be underground. In 2015, Stars and Stripes reported that American forces estimated there to be 6,000 to 8,000 underground facilities in North Korea. The true extent is a matter of guesswork for the moment. Many wouldn't be detected unless the ground above them were occupied by South Korean or U.S. forces.

The Pentagon declined to go into the capabilities and plans of U.S. forces in and around the Korean peninsula, saying that such information was more suitable for a classified Congressional briefing. However, it is well known that U.S. and South Korean forces train for special forces operations and amphibious assaults, suggesting that if war did break out, coalition forces would quickly go on the offensive. North Korea's army, although large, uses outdated equipment and is likely severely hobbled by supply problems, particularly fuel.

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