It would be the ideal but IMHO, you need to take out some Generals. You have to have his army turn on him and take him out themselves.
I think it may be too late for that. What I think would have worked is if Obama had posed a credible military threat. He should have told the Chinese and the Russians that we might have to take out NK, and that if we decided to do so, then we would give them a 3 minute warning just to make sure they did not misunderstand what was happening. Then we add to the tenseness by moving equipment into position to actually do it. Do it quietly so that they see it but don’t think we know they are seeing it. Fake intelligence passed back in forth detailing what we are planning and the logic behind it, all leaked inconspicuously. Move troops to make them think we’re getting ready for an attack. Of course, it would all be a bluff. Maybe it ends with us trying to take out Kim’s airplane by planting plastik on it with a drone, and then pretending that we had nothing to do with it. But the idea would be to get the Chinese to do the dirty work, not us.
All too late now, though.
“You have to have his army turn on him and take him out themselves.”
That’s the best solution.
The North Korean military officers need to understand their greatest risk is not acting when they can.