SK may not be able to absorb NK but they could keep it as a “puppet state” as Tigerlikesrooster says, and raise the standard of living enough for them to be able to merge. It could take a decade, but at least North Koreans wouldn’t be STARVING in the meantime.
You may be right. What are the parallels with say, the German reunification? I honestly don’t know if East Germany was in as dire straights as NK is. SK has a powerful economy, but rebuilding a trashed NK will take a long time as you say. Covering the basics, no problem. Equalizing across the peninsula? Yeah, long-term project.