Can war games help us avoid real-world conflict?
An article by Jonathan Beale, Defence Correspondent, for the BBC
North Korea has just fired off an intercontinental ballistic missile over Japan. Japan is uncertain as to whether the US wants to start a war.
It's trying to find out why a massive American naval fleet has just arrived in the region. But it's not getting any answers. There's chaos in the White House as various factions try to influence the president.
Some of this might sound familiar. But this is not real life. It's the scenario in a war game called Dire Straits, set in 2020.
And it's being acted out, not on the world stage, but in a lecture theatre and seminar rooms at King's College, London.