Donald Trump warns ‘military solutions’ are ‘locked and loaded’, by Paul Sonne.

The president hasn’t specified which precise actions by North Korea would trigger a US response, heightening the unpredictability in the standoff with Pyongyang.

The result is a sense of uncertainty that has drawn comparisons to what Richard Nixon called “the madman theory” — the tactic of coercing an adversary into negotiations by signaling the US president is sufficiently unhinged to carry out a catastrophic attack. …

Mr Trump appeared to express affinity for the concept this past week. On Wednesday, he retweeted an observation by a Fox News host describing his unpredictability as a “big asset.” …

Mr Trump also said, when asked by reporters, that he wouldn’t “rule out a military option” for Venezuela.

hat-tip Stephen Neil