North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects a military factory in this undated picture released by the Korean Central News Agency on Friday, May 17. North Korea launched several short-range guided missiles into the sea off the Korean Peninsula's east coast May 18, South Korea's semi-official news agency Yonhap cited the South Korean Defense Ministry as saying.
Editor's note: Ruben Navarrette is a CNN contributor and a nationally syndicated columnist with the Washington Post Writers Group. Follow him on Twitter: @rubennavarrette
San Diego, California (CNN) -- You know a global scenario is serious when even Darth Vader seems scared.
Developments in and around North Korea are so worrisome that they appear to have frightened Dick Cheney. The 72-year-old former vice president stopped by to visit with GOP lawmakers Tuesday and wound up talking about unpredictable, and perhaps unstable, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. According to sources present at the meeting, Cheney offered this blunt assessment of the crisis in the Korean peninsula: "We're in deep doo doo."
Oh, that's just terrific. It's spring, and the cherry blossoms are in full bloom in the nation's capital. And so naturally our thoughts turn to... the threat of thermonuclear war?
We interrupt the politically driven debates in Washington over gun control and immigration control to bring you an important message about a world leader who may be out-of-control.
Welcome to the North Korean missile crisis. subtitled: The Missiles of April.
It's time to think the unthinkable. In fact, if you live in Hawaii, Guam, the Pacific Islands or, as I do, on the West Coast of the United States -- or, for that matter, anywhere else within range of this bad neighborhood -- it's probably long past time.
Just this week, CNN reported this:
"The Obama administration now calculates it is likely North Korea may test fire mobile ballistic missiles at any time based on the most recent U.S. intelligence showing it is likely the North Koreans have completed all launch preparations."
And this:
The official confirmed that U.S. satellites are monitoring the Korean peninsula and 'the belief is that the missiles have received their liquid fuel and are ready for launch.'"
And, a day later, it followed up with this:
"Countries in northeast Asia remained on edge Wednesday amid warnings from U.S. and South Korean officials that North Korea could carry out a missile test at any time."
Hagel: N. Korea nears 'dangerous line'
World awaits North Korea's next move
South Korea concerned about threats?
Is N. Korea a nuclear threat or not?
Japan has deployed missile defense systems around Tokyo, some Chinese tour groups have canceled visits to North Korea and U.S. radars and satellites are trained on an area of the Korean east coast where Kim Jong Un's regime is believed to have prepared mobile ballistic missiles for a possible test launch.
Adm. Samuel J. Locklear, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, didn't mince words when -- in remarks at a Senate Armed Services hearing this week -- he characterized the crisis as "a clear and direct threat to U.S. national security and regional peace and stability."
OK, Pyongyang, you have America's attention -- and, for that matter, the world's. What are you going to do now? Think very carefully about how you answer that question.
It seems that there is not much that U.S. leaders can do now but wait for Kim Jong Un to make the next move. But that's a high-stakes game, since he seems to be running out of moves that don't involve a missile launch. As experts on the region have been saying all week, perhaps the most worrisome aspect of this crisis is that the North Korean leader doesn't appear to have left himself an exit door.
If, after all this huffing and puffing and rattling of missiles, Kim Jong Un simply backs down and goes back to fiddling with his Play Station and making vacation plans with Dennis Rodman, could his own military see that as a sign of weakness and stage a coup? And so, the 30-year-old despot may feel as if he has no choice but to finish the game.
Given the volatility of the situation, President Obama and his security team have to be ready -- in the event of a missile launch -- to immediately respond forcefully. A clear and unequivocal message that goes beyond diplomacy would have to be sent. The response has to leave no doubt that this administration isn't playing games -- and that it means business.
That was the message that the heroic members of Seal Team 6 delivered in tracking down and killing Osama bin Laden in Pakistan last year. Obama's liberal base was overjoyed at the use of military force in dispatching bin Laden to the other world just before a presidential election. How could it object in this case, when once again Americans -- and our allies -- are being threatened?
That's the question. If there's an answer, let's hear it. And for the sake of those of us who are closest to the doo doo, let's hope we hear it soon.
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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ruben Navarrette.
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Kim Jong Un visits the Ministry of People's Security on Wednesday, May 1, as part of the country's May Day celebrations.
A North Korea soldier gestures to stop photographers from taking photos from a Chinese tour boat as other soldiers look on along the North Korean bank of the Yalu River near the town of Sinuiji across the Chinese city of Dandong in Liaoning province, China, on Saturday, April 6.
North Korean soldiers gather by the docks in Sinuiju near the Chinese border on Thursday, April 4.
North Korean soldiers patrol along the Yalu River in Sinuiju across the border from the Chinese city of Dandong on April 4.
Kim Jong Un is briefed by his generals in this undated photo. On the wall is a map titled "Plan for the strategic forces to target mainland U.S."
Kim Jong Un works during a briefing in this undated photo.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects drills by the Korean People's Army navy at an undisclosed location on North Korea's east coast on March 25 in a photo from the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
Kim makes his way to an observation post with North Korean soldiers on March 25.
Kim uses a pair of binoculars to look south from the Jangjae Islet Defense Detachment near South Korea's Taeyonphyong Island on March 7.
Kim is greeted by the family of a soldier as he inspects Jangjae Islet Defense Detachment near South Korea's Taeyonphyong Island in South Hwanghae province on Thursday, March 7, in a photo from the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
Kim is surrounded by soldiers during a visit to the Mu Islet Hero Defense Detachment near South Korea's Taeyonphyong Island on March 7. North Korea has escalated its bellicose rhetoric, threatening nuclear strikes, just before the U.N. Security Council passed tougher sanctions against the secretive nation on March 7.
Kim arrives at Jangjae Islet by boat to meet with soldiers of the Jangjae Islet Defense Detachment near Taeyonphyong Island in South Hwanghae province on March 7.
Soldiers in the North Korean army train at an undisclosed location on March 6.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, poses with chiefs of branch social security stations in this undated picture released by North Korea's official news agency on November 27.
Kim celebrates with staff from the satellite control center in Pyongyang, North Korea, during the launch of a rocket carrying a satellite, in a photo released by the official North Korean news agency on December 12.
A crowd watches as statues of the nation's founder, Kim Il Sung, and his son Kim Jong Il are unveiled during a ceremony in Pyongyang on April 13, 2012. Photos from North Korea are rare, but the country was on full display in April 2012 as it celebrated the 100th birthday of Kim Il Sung.
A North Korean soldier stands guard in front of an UNHA III rocket at the Tangachai-ri Space Center on April 8, 2012.
In April 2012, Pyongyang launched a long-range rocket, which broke apart and fell into the sea. The UNHA III rocket is pictured on its launch pad in Tang Chung Ri, North Korea.
A closer look at the UNHA III rocket on its launch pad in Tang Chung Ri, North Korea.
A military vehicle participates in a parade in Pyongyang on April 15, 2012.
North Koreans wave flags in front of portraits of Kim Il Sung, left, and his son Kim Jong Il during celebrations to mark the 100th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang on April 16, 2012.
North Korean soldiers relax at the end of an official ceremony attended by leader Kim Jong Un at a stadium in Pyongyang on April 14, 2012.
Kim Jong Un applauds as he watches a military parade in Pyongyang on April 15, 2012.
A North Korean soldier stands on a balcony in Pyongyang on April 16, 2012.
North Korean soldiers march during a military parade in Pyongyang on April 15, 2012.
Soldiers board a bus outside a theater in Pyongyang on April 16, 2012.
North Korean performers sit below a screen showing images of leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang on April 16, 2012.
North Korean soldiers salute during a military parade in Pyongyang on April 15, 2012.
Kim Jong Un visits the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground, which is under construction in Pyongyang, in a photo released on July 3, 2012, by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency.
North Korean soldiers listen to a speech during an official ceremony attended by leader Kim Jong Un at a stadium in Pyongyang on April 14, 2012.
Members of a North Korean military band gather following an official ceremony at the Kim Il Sung stadium in Pyongyang on April 14, 2012.
North Korean military personnel watch a performance in Pyongyang on April 16, 2012.
A North Korean controller is seen along the railway line between Pyongyang and North Pyongan province on April 8, 2012.
A North Korean military honor guard stands at attention at Pyongyang's airport during a diplomatic visit on May 2, 2001.
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