>> how serious are they? at one level he seems crazy and at another level seems crazy enough to doing in like this. >> i think we have to take him very seriously. i think there is tendency to look wall them and think of them as meaningless boasts but the level of testing we have seen over the last eight years has been incredible. they have done 65 missile and nuclear tests compared with 17 in the previous 14 years. this is not just boasting. it is a military testing program designed to achieve the objective that can reach the united states. the purpose of that is to hold the united states hostage so that we would not be able to defend our allies and north korea would be at liberty to coerce through all sorts of threats and other activities.