S. Korea & USA provide limited humanitarian support to N. Korea (primarily food), which they use to feed their military, while the targeted population starves. Every administration (not just Obama's) has the burden of spreading democracy & human rights across the world (not a choice), even if doing so means to ease NK’s financial woes. NK continues to improve guidance technology (don’t be fooled: they already have long distance fire-crackers), while Iran continues to develop nuclear heads to fit atop NK missiles. These countries are quietly doing the dirty work that China & some old Soviet allies don't do in the public eye (to promote communist goals). In the interim, our capitalistic appetite has made China a military & financial superpower. Recurrent provocations by NK to SK may just be the ticket to break the current truce (their war has not ended). Intervention (to annihilate threats) is needed, but not until we re-group our forces (let’s get out of the Gulf). Other than keeping proximity/ monitoring Iran, our military is done with 'missions' (?) that started < 20 years ago in that area. China will not hesitate to use their resources to support neighboring NK (as done before) if we jump in to beef up SK's forces (one of the finest in the world, IMO). If it happens, we will need more than just infantry women to fight the war.