Congressman says North Korea could smuggle a nuke into the US in a bale of marijuana

US House of Representatives

Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman made an interesting suggestion about the nuclear threat from North Korea after attending a classified briefing at the White House on Thursday.

"No. Korea could smuggle nuke into U.S. rather than use ICBM. Could smuggle inside a bale of marijuana..." tweeted Sherman, adding in a subsequent tweet: "...and might sell nukes to Iran, which has billions of hard currency. Waiting for answers..."

While experts dispute whether or not North Korea has successfully miniaturized a nuclear warhead, one thing is sure — Customs and Border Protection does its best on a daily basis to intercept illegal shipments of marijuana and other drugs to the US, and so does the Coast Guard. 

It's unclear what steps the US could take to crack down on smuggling that they're not already actively taking. Perhaps border walls or increase scrutiny of immigrants and visitors would please Sherman. 

It's entirely possible that North Korea could sell nuclear materials or missile technology to Iran, as Sherman mentioned, but again, that would violate international law and UN resolutions, and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the Iran deal. Perhaps Sherman would prefer the US to scrap the Iran deal and renege on sanctions relief. 

Reuters/KCNA

President Donald Trump's North Korea strategy does leave some things to be desired, but the concerns Sherman raises here draws on the realm of the possible, while seemingly ignoring what's practical or even probable. 

Sherman, the top Democrat on the House Asia Subcommittee seems to be trying to grasp why exactly the criminal elements of the world have not yet joined together to destroy America, and is "waiting for answers."

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