South Korea is basically the biggest reason we can't go anything remotely aggressive or intimidating on N.K. The South has gotten all squishy after a generation of the US keeping them safe and warm at night and now, just like Europe, they have grown to resent the protect we have provided them. If it wasn't for the threat that N.K. would nuke Seoul as its first act in response to an offensive by us, we would have been able to send a buttload of JDAMS over to one of the glorious leaders regular parades and get rid of his entire leadership in about 10 seconds.
On the other hand, the U.S. cannot simply wait until N.K. develops the delivery systems to put Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast at the same risk that Seoul is in right now.
Better Seoul now than Seoul and the entire U.S. West Coast in the future.
It is time to get the U.S. ground troop "trip wires" out of South Korea and deal decisively with North Korea.
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Have you been to Korea or studied the area at all? There is no accuracy in your post.
The US is in the ROK but they are themselves responsible for their own defense. (Here's a quick quiz - How many US troops patrol the DMZ?)
NK doesn't need to nuke Seoul. Any SK ten year old knows that the entire city is within reach of @ 10,000 tubes of artillery. These resources are buried deep in the hard-rock mountains and beyond the reach of our best bunker-busters. Any conflict and Seoul would look like Dresden within three days with half the city trapped once the bridges over the Han River are taken out.
The suggestion that we would take out the NK leadership via assassination by air betrays a lack of understanding about what we can and can't do by law (our law).
I read several German papers and blogs.
The German public seems to blame the US and Bush overwhelmingly. (go figure)
They keep sticking their head in the sand, unaware that their asses produce an inviting target.
Oh well, Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.