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There was a long moment of stunned silence.

Eventually Luis said: ‘We’ve lost the feed. They think the system has been destroyed – not surprisingly.’

Pauline said: ‘We’ve seen enough to know that there will be dozens of dead and wounded plus millions of dollars’ worth of damage. But is that the end of it? I presume we would have heard if any more missiles had been launched anywhere in Korea.’

Luis asked the Pentagon, waited, then said: ‘No, nothing more.’

Now for the first time Pauline sat down, taking the chair at the head of the table. She said: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, that was not the outbreak of a war.’

They took a moment to absorb that. Then Gus said: ‘I agree, Madam President, but would you explain your thinking?’

‘Of course. One: this was a strictly limited strike – six missiles, one target – no attempt to conquer or destroy South Korea. Two: they have been careful not to kill Americans, striking a naval base that is not used by American ships. To sum up, everything about this attack suggests restraint.’ She looked around and added: ‘Paradoxically.’

Gus nodded thoughtfully. ‘They’ve hit back at the base that destroyed their submarine, and that’s all. They want this to be seen as a proportionate response.’

‘They want peace,’ Pauline said. ‘They’re struggling to win a civil war, and they don’t want to have to fight South Korea as well as the ultras.’

Chess said: ‘Where does that leave us?’

Pauline was thinking on her feet, but she was a few steps ahead of the group. ‘We must prevent South Korea retaliating. They won’t like it, but they’ll have to suck it up. They have an agreement with us, the Mutual Defense Treaty of 1953. In Article Three that document obliges them to consult us when they’re threatened by external armed attack. They have to check with us.’

Luis looked sceptical. ‘In theory,’ he said.

‘True. It’s a basic law of international relations that governments fulfil their treaty obligations only when it suits them. When it doesn’t, they find excuses. So what we have to do now is nail it down.’

Chess said: ‘Good idea. How?’

‘I’m going to propose a ceasefire and a peace conference: North Korea, South Korea, China and us. It will be hosted by an Asian country, somewhere more or less neutral – Sri Lanka might work.’

Chess nodded. ‘The Philippines, perhaps. Or Laos, if the Chinese prefer a Communist dictatorship.’

‘Whatever.’ Pauline stood up. ‘Set up calls with President Chen and President No, please. Keep trying to reach the North Korean envoy at the UN, but I’ll also ask Chen to call the Supreme Leader.’

Chess said: ‘Yes, ma’am.’

Luis said: ‘The families of military personnel in South Korea should be evacuated.’

‘Yes. And there are a hundred thousand American civilians there. They should be advised to leave.’

‘One more thing, Madam President. I think we need to raise the alert level to DEFCON 3.’

Pauline hesitated. This would be a public acknowledgement that the world had become a more dangerous place. It was never done lightly.

The decision about alert levels had to be made by the president and the Secretary of Defense together. If Pauline and Luis agreed, the announcement would be made by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Bill Schneider.

Jacqueline Brody spoke for the first time. ‘The trouble is that it gets the public all antsy.’

Luis was impatient with talk about public opinion. He was not much of a democrat. ‘We need our forces to be ready!’

‘But we don’t need to panic the American people,’ Jacqueline said.

Pauline settled the issue. ‘Luis is right,’ she said. ‘Raise the DEFCON level. Have Bill announce it tomorrow at the morning press conference.’

‘Thank you, Madam President,’ said Luis.

‘But Jacqueline is also right,’ Pauline said. ‘We need to explain that this is a precaution, and the public in the United States are not in danger. Gus, I think you should appear alongside Bill to reassure people.’

‘Yes, ma’am.’