No Koreans aren't evil.

There leader however is an evil despot who is exaberating the problems of the korean people and is crazy enough to nuke japan.  Therefore should be removed for the good of the koreans.

The question is.... will anyone be up to it?  Had the US not invaded Iraq or showed some sense in it's reconstruction (not eliminating the entirity of the army), chances would of been much greater that they would have.   Iraq would of been stable and the US would of been gone months ago.

This is a tuff call though. The biggest issue I have with the Iraq war, is Iraq was not a direct threat to the United States.

NK is not either. I am sure there target will be Japan. While I would hate to see Japan attacked, if we invade NK, it's no better then what we did in Iraq.

I would like to see this solved through the UN. Have the UN decide if they need to be taken down, and then have an international force do it...

Ok, well... have the UN say do it, and have the US under the banner of the UN actually do it :p. (less allied casualties that way).

Hmmm... tbh I highly doubt that he would be capable of it. He knows that if that would happen Korea would be run down in matter of days or even hours. Even tough he might be crazy and powerhungry I doubt that hes stupid :| Just let him play with his toys, and if no nation will try and stop him, then probably we will dodge another conflict that could damage the world and its economy even more ;)

The Iraq war was a lot of things, (and a lot of them wrong), but what it didn't do, is damage the world, or its economy.

Invading NK would be wrong at this point, but if we did do it, it would have far less world economic impacts then if a nuke goes off in Japan.

if North Korea's leaders have any sense at all, then we needn't worry. we all know that
if they sent one nuke towards another country, they would have at least 10 more coming their way.

of course, thats IF they have any sense......l

But isn't the US obligated to defend Japan (Japan isn't a protectorate state, but it's similar), and wouldn't a nuke on Japan probably be concentrated on the US forces in Okinawa, hence being an attack on the US?

Wasn't the war on Iraq based on faulty evidence and a false threat, while a war against North Korea (assuming they actually nuked/bombed) be a war on actual evidence and a real and immediate threat? While I do agree that an invasion should be done with an international force (it's in America's interest, as it lessens their own personal burden), but do you think the US should wait for the UN, or the UN won't quickly sanction it anyway?

I don't see North Korea attacking Japan anyway, unless it's controled by a literally isnane leader, who has no self regard for his life, power, or pleasure. I kinda see NK as almost like 3D realms. They just promise to come out with something, and keep receiving funds, but end up not doing anything. They're an attention whore. The missile test was a huge plee for attention when the whole word was focusing on the economic crisis.

A war allways damages economy in a way or other...

And please people. Common, whats with this Nuclear Bomb fear I hear on every forum I go. Its like back in the '70s. The cold war is over no nation is stupid enough to start a full-blown nuclear war, and I doubt that N Korea will. They wont bomb Japan because of the simple rules of survivor that they are fully aware of. The only nation that ever bombed Japan or used nuclear mass-destruction weapons was the USA. So stop freaking out!!!

Yes, the dictator of Korea might not be the most humanitarian person in the world but AGAIN he is not stupid, and I really doubt that his hatered toward Japan is enough to push him to such dastric measures as using nuclear weaponry...

^He's made threats to do things to south korea which would provoke an international response and probably topple his regime. Don't put anything pass him.

I say you don't understand Kim Jong Ill.  Check out North Korea.  The guy is everywhere.  His main compulsion is to be known.

Once he gets older and his health starts to fail he'd bomb Japan.  Just to be remembered for all time.

Just like Hitler in WW2 who decreed that if he should die then Germany should die too.

He doesn't give a shit about his people... or anyone... and once his end is near he's going to do whatever he can to go down in the history books.

yeah, that's what I'm a little worried about, but he has to realize his country only covers 120,000 km², and that wouldn't be very difficult for the US to turn into a smoking wasteland (not a very good legacy for the "Great Leader"). And if he nukes japan, I can guarentee there will be a lot more than just the US gunning for them...

However, I do agree with hunter that a preemptive strike is not a viable option at this point. But neither should we give even a millimeter on the current sanctions.