This gets reported on often but is worth re-examining–the US is not well positioned for either a pre-emptive strike on North Korea or a strong defensive move against North Korean aggression.  Remember, the build up to the Iraq invasion took months–and that was on terrain much more favorable to US military strengths, against a clearly inferior military opponent that was not highly motivated and didn’t have WMD’s, and there wasn’t the possibility of a devastating penalty to  a strong US ally in the region as a result of the action.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-military-options-on-north-korea-very-ugly/ar-AArePwH?li=AA4Zpp&ocid=spartandhp