Nuclear weapons obsolescence only works if adversaries buy off on it too, which North Korea is not doing. The North’s significant strides place it on an inevitable course to threaten the peninsula and beyond. The West cannot rely on universal renunciation of the nuclear option nor dares it unilaterally disarm and risk ceding tremendous power to unfriendly forces. However reluctantly, the U.S.-ROK alliance must establish an adaptive plan including tangible measures to recharge its extended nuclear deterrence capability. The measures must be linked to milestones Pyongyang crosses in its inexorable reach to arm itself with nuclear weapons and exploit the leverage they bestow. A return to nuclear reliance is distasteful to some, yet to call it unnecessary is wishful thinking