text: I would ask, "What sort of nuance does the author expect?" 
  N.Korea is already a pariah in the international community. Repeated sanctions have had little effect except to punish the common people; the ruling class continues to live well. After more than half a century of poverty does the author expect the people to rise up for regime change; not likely. Embargos have had little effect on stalling their missle & nuclear programs.
  The only nuance I can see is to convince China to curb their dog. But China have become such an economic power that sanctions against them would also cause international chaos, and not likely to be honored. 
  So the only option I see is to convince the international community that regime change is in order for the sake of international peace. Thus the threat of "fire and fury" is for consumption of the international community, not N.Korea.