I agree Diotrephes except getting tough on North Korea is not the answer. We should not be afraid of China or Russia and tell them anything that North Koreas does will garner retribution not only one NK but also China and Russia. We should sanction the shit out of BOTH China and Russia and promise every nation that boycotts those nations will get what ever they need from the USA at the same price, and if they don't boycott them unilaterally they will be treated just like them.
I know the capabilities of Russias and Chinas military. Relatively they are shit. I bet that Germany could easily wipe out Russia, and the UK could easily wipe out China, but the US could easily wipe them both out simultaneously. It wouldn't be a guerrilla war or a war on terrorism. there would be specific and strategic targets. We wouldn't even use ground troops, just aircraft, and the Navy. The only thing is that NK has 1 million conventional combatants. South Korea would definitely be wiped out before the real war would happen. That is the fight scenario. We have to back our threats up or else they are empty. We don't need to use nukes. If NK fires a nuke yes it will kill many people but the retaliation doesn't need to be nuclear.
Let me recall a little bit of history for you.
In 1975 the USA pulled out of Vietnam. We won every battle but lost the war. We were afraid that if we took the war to the enemy Russia and or China would intervene to protect an ally from losing that war. So we just left. NOT "peace with honor" like Nixon proclaimed, but indignant and embarrassing retreat. What is important is what happened the very next day after we left. At 03:00 hours Vietnam time China launched an unprovoked attack against Vietnam. The Vietnamese were surprised but gathered themselves and fought back. For the next 26 days, the Chinese lost over 5000 men a day about 130,000 soldiers. They called off the attack. China's military is shit, and so is Russias! There is no need to fear them. Ask the Chechnians about the Russians. Ask the Kurds. Russia's military sucks, their tactics suck, they have no Navy and their aircraft break down. Ask the Israelis about Russian aircraft. They have been shooting them out of the sky for half a century.
You follow through with any threat and they will all cave. I bet we could make a deal with North Vietnam right now and they would kick the shit out of China.
Russia's military lacks unity. All of their units are segmented ethnically. They have no loyalty to any central command. They operate as seperate hired guns. Some units just flat out refuse to obey orders half the time. And that is what you get when you don't pay them.
I was in Kenya on an R&R. there was a Russian ship there for the same reason. Some of the Russians wanted to show the USMC (us) how strong they were and how tough they were. They began doing physical feats that were impressive. One asked me after doing 50 headstand push ups "what do you think, can you do that?" I said, "No I couldn't, but then again I only have to shoot you from a mile away and I can certainly do that." The point is that no military can function unless it functions as a whole. Saddam Hussein's military was rated 4th in the world when we first attacked it. They couldn't coordinate beyond battalion strength. They folded like a lawn chair.
So don't talk tough and not be able to back it up.
Now I am not saying let's start a war. What I am saying is take tough measures(sanctions/boycott) against NK, Russia, and China, and not be afraid of any of them! They fire a missile we carpet bomb Pyongyang. China sends troops or ships we send Tomahawk missiles if they don't back down. Russia and China will never use their nukes if they aren't being overrun so there is no reason to even worry about that aspect.
Sometimes to win a fight you have to take a bloody lip.