Decorated soldier Lt Col Daniel Davis said he was “concerned” US President Donald Trump will not back down as he warned taking on the rogue nation would have “virtually no chance of success”.
He said military options should “unequivocally” be taken off the table, as the US “cannot wipe out all of their ability to fire weapons of mass destruction” fast enough to prevent a counterattack from Pyongyang.
And he urged against any proposals for all-out war with North Korea, saying: “That time has passed.”
Lt Col Davis told CNBC: “All you can do is to make him [North Korean leader Kim Jong-un] believe with a military strike that we are coming after him, and now he has incentive to use these weapons.”
The decorated veteran retired from the US Army after 21 years service, and is now a senior fellow and military expert at Defense Priorities.
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He warned Pyongyang’s objective was to have a reliable ballistic missile capability so it can defend itself from what leaders view as the threat of a US attack.
Lt Col Davis added: ”We can expect more missile launches.”
He also condemned war-mongering talk from the US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who said the United Nations Security Council had “run out of options” on containing North Korea.
Lt Col Davis said: “We want to give him no incentive to use the weapons, and that’s why deterrence is such a critical thing at this point in time.
“We can’t think that sanctions are going to stop him from what he’s doing.
“We have to find other levers, and I don’t even think we’re looking for those right now.”
His comments come after North Korea launched another missile over Japan into the Pacific Ocean last week, amid tough new UN sanctions on crude oil and textiles.
Lt Col Davis added: “It’s not as if they decided to launch a test missile after the UN sanctions last Monday.
“What’s going on is part of a broader process.”
“They need to launch a good four to five additional missiles over the next 12 months, with three to four months between each one of them, so they can validate the effectiveness of their missile fleet.”