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Domestically, people in SK feel they had enough. They took all the restraints one can possibly do, and now NK has a real nuke. Allies promise that they can provide guaranteed defense. Many are skeptical. They all feel that they have to take the matters in their own hand, even if it is rather late. So they want SK's own nuclear deterrent. U.S. State Dept., arms control establishment, and Zero are all displeased. However, putting SK on even shorter leash while NK is running amok is not making a convincing case. It is a rather bureaucratically expedient move.

Anyway, because of that, U.S. are showing all kind of scary weapons(B-2, B-52, and others) to NK's Fat Boy. The trouble is that he is not backing down and up the ante in his own way. The boy used up all non-military measures now. At the same time, he always move ahead of belligerent rhetoric. He goes further than outsiders are accustomed to. NK rhetoric and threat have their own well-honed choreography. Plan, timing, execution, and climb down. He is way off this path. Things are not going right.

We all believe that NK state is dying. Clock is ticking. It is ticking faster after Kim Jong-il's death. In light of latest actions, it is ticking even faster. NK can unravel sooner than we expect. We always want to have some time cushion so that we can plan, prepare, and steer the event toward the manageable situation. However, I don't think NK situation will end in such a way. Things will end in some kind of a mess which nobody are prepared to deal with. Yes, we may predict the outcome, but the outcome would be one of the least favorable cases.