(cont.)
Very few in the US take NK seriously.  It is generally assumed that the US triad would prevent them from attacking.

But that viewpoint is going to prove to be catastrophic.  At the very least, NK will pass their WMD/ICBM technology on to Iran, Syria, Pakistan, Egypt and various African states -- e.g. Uganda & the DRC --with which they have done business for decades.  You can expect to see all of these tyrannical states become nuclear powers within the next decade.

Moreover, NK will use its capability to re-unite the Korean Peninsula under their rule.  No US president is going to sacrifice the US mainland to protect SK from NK invasion.

The US is in a lose-lose situation.  If the US does nothing, then NK and its numerous rogue allies will simply become more formidable and threatening to the West.

If the US exercises a military option, that will be a disaster.  At the very least, millions will be killed and wounded.  If the PRC enters the fray, then the US would lose (cont.)