As North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pursues increasingly powerful atomic weaponry and more sophisticated delivery systems, is he creating security for his regime or pushing the United States to act? 

"I think Kim Jong-un's gone too far," says the Miller Center's Brantly Womack, an expert on China and on asymmetric relationships—those between bigger and smaller powers. Womack outlines the basics of North Korean, Chinese, and US calculations, and he explains why several factors—the 100-day milestone of the Trump administration and the upcoming South Korean election, for instance—make the next two weeks very significant.

Womack also looks at China's policy objectives—mainly stability—and assesses US diplomatic options. Womack's interview is a must-see for anyone seeking to understand this volatile relationship and a critically important region.