The bellicose threats and actions between the Trump administration and North Korea is unfolding into a drama that seems more akin to the fantasy world of Game of Thrones than modern politics.

While the world is accustomed to hostile and hyperbolic military threats from North Korea, which only reinforces its pariah status and nickname of the “Hermit Kingdom,” North Korea has become even more belligerent as it races to develop nuclear weapons and conducts missile tests at an unprecedented pace.

However, no one questions the risk posed by a nuclear-armed North Korea. The real issue is how the United States, the primary focus of North Korea’s provocative rhetoric, and its allies respond to the growing menace.

Fire and Fury Like the World Has Never Seen

How Donald Trump and his administration handle the North Korea situation is a big question. And right now, it appears that the Trump administration and North Korea are waging a game of threats that seems more like a page out of Game of Thrones than a real-life situation where a global superpower attempts to resolve a potentially volatile situation.

In dramatic fashion, Donald Trump made a public statement on August 8 where he said, “North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States, they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”

This kind of inflammatory and fiery rhetoric is a shift in the approach used with North Korea and the potential implications are reminiscent of Daenerys Targaryen releasing her dragons on Westeros. The real-life equivalent of the dragons and their destructive force are nuclear weapons, and Donald Trump seems to be saying “bend the knee” or I will destroy you, which is a familiar scenario with Game of Thrones fans.

Of course, this is North Korea, and similar to Cersei Lannister, it does not back down from a challenge no matter how daunting the odds. In a swift retort to Trump’s apparent nuclear war threat, the Hermit Kingdom stated that he was “bereft of reason” and warned, “Only absolute force can work on him.”

North Korea also stated that it was preparing plans by mid-August to strike U.S. military targets around Guam, which has two major U.S. military bases, with medium-to-long-range ballistic missiles.

As the game of threats continues to unfold, Donald Trump fired back with “I will tell you this: If North Korea does anything in terms of even thinking about attack—of anybody that we love or represent, our allies or us, they should be very, very nervous. And they should be because things will happen to them like they never thought possible.”

Trump went on to address the Guam threat specifically with a threat of his own, “Let’s see what he does with Guam—he does something in Guam, it will be an event the likes of which nobody’s seen before, what will happen in North Korea.”

House Trump’s Motto: Nuclear War Is Coming?

Similar to the popular motto of House Stark on Game of Thrones, “winter is coming,” the latest belligerent rhetoric between the Trump administration and North Korea is making people wonder if there is a certain inevitability to the notion that nuclear war is coming.

via GIPHY

While it is highly unlikely that any of this incendiary rhetoric and political posturing will lead to nuclear war, the escalating nature of these threats is cause for concern. If neither country is willing to back down, a game of threats will eventually evolve into a game of war. If the situation does escalate into an armed conflict, it’s hard to tell how things may go when you have a leader like Kim Jong-un in power.

The United States has the most powerful military in the world, and there is no doubt that the U.S. and its allies would defeat North Korea and Kim Jong-un’s regime. However, Kim Jong-un knows this, and the real question is how does he react, especially if his power and life are at risk. If Kim Jong-un is threatened, he could very well attempt to inflict the maximum damage possible with some kind of nuclear strike on one or more U.S. targets. If that were to occur, it’s hard to say what an unpredictable Donald Trump may do in retaliation as a show of U.S. might.

At the moment, Donald Trump and his administration are not backing down. To reiterate his previous threats to Kim Jong-un, he tweeted, “Military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!”

The game of threats is on.