Why didn't the US knock down the DPRK?

[v0031]

A French friend told me that the North Korea regime is far from posing a threat to the US interest.It would be quite easy for the US to take Kim out, but they wouldn't choose to do so, partly they just want to exaggerate the threat of DPRK and sell more weapons to Japan and South Korea. Is that true?

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

The status quo is most beneficial to the United States. While the South Korean and American forces in South Korea could easily beat North Korea, North Korean artillery would still heavily damage Seoul, and the costs of rebuilding in South Korea and occupying North Korea far outweigh any of the benefits of a war.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

A French friend told me that the North Korea regime is far from posing a threat to the US interest.It would be quite easy for the US to take Kim out, but they wouldn't choose to do so, partly they just want to exaggerate the threat of DPRK and sell more weapons to Japan and South Korea. Is that true?

Pretty much. The North Koreans, as Snowstalker noted, are a danger in war but even more dangerous if they collapse.

[Stranger in a strange land]

It would not be "quite easy" to take out Kim Jong Un and his regime. It would require a bloody war in which probably millions would die and the global economy would be wrecked, followed by an occupation and rebuilding effort which would likely take decades. The effects on South Korea would be crippling in every way. The status quo is honestly preferable.

[Famous Mortimer]

You French friend sounds like an asshole. Basically America is damned if they do, damned if they don't with him. He's literally criticizing America for not starting a war. He would like it better if we did unilaterally invade?

[Silent Hunter]

It would not be "quite easy" to take out Kim Jong Un and his regime. It would require a bloody war in which probably millions would die and the global economy would be wrecked, followed by an occupation and rebuilding effort which would likely take decades. The effects on South Korea would be crippling in every way. The status quo is honestly preferable.

Indeed; although that's not saying much.

[Vega]

The DPRK is going to collapse by it's self, we don't really need to speed up that process.

Also, I think they could pose a headache by their army's sheer numbers. Still, all their tech is like stuck in the 1960s so they'd be dispatched pretty quickly.

[Sol]

Honestly though I think a U.S. invasion would be preferable, because the DPRK is just that bad.

[Vosem]

If North Korea really is still at '60s levels of technology, could an Israel-'67-style preemptive strike on airfields to take out air power immediately before an invasion be realistic?

[Stranger in a strange land]

The DPRK is going to collapse by it's self, we don't really need to speed up that process.

People have been saying that at least since 1989, but as long as China continues to prop up the regime with food and fuel, and as long as it can sell missiles and other weapons to the likes of Syria, Iran, an Pakistan, it can sputter along.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

The DPRK is going to collapse by it's self, we don't really need to speed up that process.

People have been saying that at least since 1989, but as long as China continues to prop up the regime with food and fuel, and as long as it can sell missiles and other weapons to the likes of Syria, Iran, an Pakistan, it can sputter along.

Don't forget statues!  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansudae_Overseas_Projects

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

I don't believe in North Korea posing any real danger. DPRK's leaders are everything, but not imbeciles. Sure, they can inflict a terrible damage on South Korea or Japan by launching a sudden attack, but for what purpose? The regime is preoccupied with survival.

Of course, "knocking down" DPRK wouldn't me easy. In 1994, when Clinton considered military options to stop Kim Il-sung's nuclear program, the Pentagon estimated that, while military conflict would end with certain and total victory, it would cost millions of South Korean lives and as many as 100,000 American. Now DPRK got nuclear weapon. Also, this is the most militarized society on earth (and totally indoctrinated), so I can easily say a long, guerrilla war raging long after the government itself collapses.

And if North Korea doesn't pose a real threat to the United States' interests, why to get into this mess?