North Korea has a successful nuclear test (North Korea's Nuclear Weapons)

[Kornman00]

I'm sure the UN would be sending in troops if the North did go south. The US wouldn't be the only ones to provide military support

[CN3089]

"North Korea's leader ordered its 1.2 million-member military to get ready for combat."
That sounds about right.
That said, Kim Jong Il hasn't been seen in public for a pretty long time.
So it's entirely possible the leadership is getting edgy maybe due to ill health which would probably compromise or at least undermine the leaderships power.
Last I was told by a friend from near there, the population see their leader as all that is good in humanity and would do anything to protect him, always referencing to him as their "dear leader".
If the numbers above to be believe and the the entire military doe's in fact get mobilized there will not be a single chance the US can have any hope of protecting the S. Koreans as well as fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
That's my personal take on all this anyway.

The South Koreans could probably handle North Korea by themselves, even without American aid (which would primarily be provided by the Navy and Air Force, branches which aren't as strained by your current conflicts). The problem is that North Korea has enough artillery pointed at Seoul to annihilate it (and the 25 million people living in it, about as much as the entirety of the North) far more quickly than either the ROK or the USA could take them out.



Anyways unless somebody in the DPRK really goes off his rocker this isn't going to be a war, neither side is that stupid/insane, stop fantasizing

e:

I'm sure the UN would be sending in troops if the North did go south. The US wouldn't be the only ones to provide military support

China has a permanent seat and veto on the security council, so no, hth

[rossmum]

It wouldn'tbe the UN, but I can definitely see at least some neighbouring nations (and probably us too) going in as well should everything go to absolute shit

[rossmum]

Not sure if someone's posted it already, but a friend linked me to this. Very interesting assessment of NK's capabilities.

[paladin]

That was interesting, with lots of pretty pictures