Obama is keeping the options open. If Putin doesn’t directly take the bait and attack, Kim Jung Un could either be Putin’s surrogate or could have an excuse to hit us.
It is NK and Iran who have the satellites with the right orbit to hit us with an EMP. Both could be persuaded to attack (and given the right nuke for the job) by either Russia or China - both of whom have already prepared an alternate financial system that would survive an EMP attack (or other financial collapse causes) in the US.
Yup, options. Crises to exploit for plausible deniability.
As for Putin, he may prefer Syria as a theater for military clash against U.S., but Kim helps out, Putin will take it.