"A nuke tossed at Korea would kill fewer people than a conventional war, and would give just cause for a nuke response that might end things immediately."
Do you really think that the Chicoms will stand by, and allow anyone to nuke North Korea, right on their doorstep??!! Please explain to me in detail how you would keep China from tossing everything they have at us in retaliation for a pre-emptive nuclear strike on North Korea.
What I was trying to say was that a couple of nukes launched from nK would kill fewer South Koreans than a conventional war would. There are 15 million South Koreans within easy artillery range of nK - a war would kill numbers that would dwarf Nagasaki.
However, China would not start a nuclear war over nKorea.