including a military option which nobody wants to take. >> reporter: but a u.s. military strike could trigger catastrophe. >> i think that if the u.s. chose to strike korea in any way, we would most likely see an immediate north korean response that could take different form. it could be a counterattack on south korea. it could be another cyberattack. and kim jong-un feeling as emboldened as he does would likely react in a strong way. >> reporter: and the north korean counterattack could put millions of south koreans and 28,000 u.s. troops and their families in south korea in peril. wolf? >> barbara starr at the pentagon, thanks very much. coming up, the new twist in president trump's very public feud with tv host joe scarborough and mika brzezinski. did the white house threaten them with a tabloid story?