It's hard to imagine that two countries would go to nuclear war knowingly trying to wipe each other out.

But the thing you worry about with a country like North Korea with a handful of nuclear weapons

is that stuff can happen.

Hi, I'm Ian Brimmer, and welcome to the GZero World Podcast.

It's an audio version of what you can find on public television,

where I analyze global topics, sit down with big guests, and make use of small puppets.

This week, I sit down with Victor Cha, an expert on the Korean Peninsula, who was the frontrunner to be the next U.S. ambassador to South Korea,

until some folks in the White House thought otherwise.

Let's get to it.

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You were going to be appointed the ambassador to South Korea.

I think a lot of the people that cover Asia

like the idea of a serious expert that was going to take that post.

And then the nomination was withdrawn.

We hear because you were not on board with the idea

of military strikes against North Korea, and yet now we're friends with Kim Jong-un.

I mean, things have moved quite a bit since that fracas here.

In 2017, I was very concerned that we were headed in the direction of some sort of military

...