Leon Panetta: North Korea Has Been a ‘Tinderbox’ for a Long Time

‘We should not engage in any precipitous action’

EXCERPT:

MITCHELL: "Leon, let's talk about North Korea first of all. What do you expect? We all are sort of on high alert because of the way that North Korea memorializes these important anniversaries n their culture, and that is the founder's birthday."
PANETTA: “No question this is a tinderbox, has been for a long time, but we're at a time when there is a potential for provocation with the testing of this nuclear weapon. And, you know, obviously, the words from the administration are creating even higher volume in terms of the provocations that are going on. I think we have to be careful here. This is — you know, we shouldn't engage in any precipitous action. There is a reason no U.S. president in recent history has pulled the trigger on North Korea. You have 20 million people in Seoul that would be a target.

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