The US isn't within current strike range of NK. The other countries are. South Korea, notably, has its capital (and 25 million inhabitants) within 35 miles of the North Korean border.
There's some debate as to how much of the NK artillery force is capable of striking Seoul, but there's no doubt that at least some of it can.
And that's just conventional weaponry (explosives, possibly chemical and biological weapons).
Nukes are a completely different ballgame.
NK could disrupt affairs in countries in which the US has significant economic and strategic relationships. But its ability to directly affect the US is somewhat less. At least so long as you're thinking in terms of artillery and missile launches. A ship-board nuke could still make for a really bad day in New York, LA, Houston, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, or even Chicago or other Great Lakes ports.
There's some debate as to how much of the NK artillery force is capable of striking Seoul, but there's no doubt that at least some of it can.
And that's just conventional weaponry (explosives, possibly chemical and biological weapons).
Nukes are a completely different ballgame.
NK could disrupt affairs in countries in which the US has significant economic and strategic relationships. But its ability to directly affect the US is somewhat less. At least so long as you're thinking in terms of artillery and missile launches. A ship-board nuke could still make for a really bad day in New York, LA, Houston, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, or even Chicago or other Great Lakes ports.
http://www.businessinsider.com/map-of-the-day-how-north-kore... http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/rok/seoul-image...