‘North Korea would eventually lose at the hands of South Korea and the United States.’
That is provided we get involved. If we are underestimating what Kim is doing then we are probably overestimating what Obama will do or even want to do. In other words, we are probably in deep doodoo.
If the north launches a pre-emptive strike, the south may not have time to respond and we immediately lose 29,000 soldiers. I don’t believe the Obama administration will retaliate. They will wait and see and by then, the north will already have occupied the south. If we don’t respond immediately, China may eventually get involved to support the north as they want the buffer zone between them and the west.