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We will never go to war against N. Korea. China will certainly join N. Korea against us. We cannot afford that. Our invasion of N. Korea will enflame the entire region and the nuclear threat against S. Korea, Japan and our own military bases in the Aelutians.

Should we conquer N. Korea without a nuclear exchange, what would be the spoils? There is no prize there.

Actually, the way to do it would be to engage S. Korea, China and Japan to promote the cessation of nuclear development by N. Korea. The U.S. should stress to them that the last thing we really want is to commit more ground troops and other military assets to the region.

Later, quietly, we should use a S. Korean or N. Korean element to place a non-traceable explosive device to try to effect "a tragic industrial accident" which would be the result of "the ineptitude of a third-world wannabe". Let then the countries of interest, but especially S. Korea embark upon the restoration of the then devastated N. Korea and its long-suffering peoples.

It's true that North Korea is China's client state, but there is a limit to what they will tolerate. Today, unlike 1953, the Chinese have heavy investments and a booming trade with Japan and South Korea. The last time the North Koreans attacked the South, it cost the Chinese a million casualties to restore the antebellum boundaries. This time, a North Korean assault will fall on Chinese investments and business and any "rescue" of Kim Jong Il will cost them more than the last time.

And if the Nokors attack, the US must go to war because Camp Red Cloud is right in the path of any North Korean thrust. The smart betting is that North Korea will stay in its cage, at least for the immediate future.

Ironically, the current crisis has been caused by a combination of containment and appeasement: a kind of diplomatic bulemia. Containment very nearly brought the Pyongyang regime to its knees, but Clinton feared that Kim would lash out in his final agony and gave him a slug of money to "ease his pain". The result is that Kim is lashing out with the wad of cash that President Clinton gave him.

North Korea is now thoroughly unstable. Both containment and appeasement, or any combination thereof, could push Pyongyang over the edge. Bottom line: North Korea is imploding. If they come across, they will be destroyed. If they stay in place, they will collapse in situ. Either way, the long years of division on the peninsula will soon be over.