Pre-emptive Nuclear threats

In the article below, the possiblity of pre-emptive nuclear strike by North Korea against the US is mentioned as the latest diplomatic turn between the two countries. Quinones' work suggests that North Korea may have enough plutonium for about 8 nuclear warheads and also that there are nuclear research facilities in North Korea. Also, the media recently has devoted much attention to the possibility of North Korea's conducting their first experimental detonation, as shown by a big hole dug, and then filled up again. As Quinones points out however, North Korea may not be able to back up their threats. We still do not know if the trigger for the bomb will work, and even if it does, North Korea does not appear to have the technology to launch a nuclear weapon at a great distance. While North Korea could 'pre-emptively' destroy Seoul and many American lives and bases, one must consider skeptically a North Korea-lead nuclear attack on North American soil.
http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20050524%2F1242902861.htm&ewp=ewp_news_north_korea&floc=NW_1-T