Nukes, however, make no distinction in whom they cull.

The “Seoul be damned” preemptive strike is unlikely.  A credible intercontinental attack launching from NK would be… well… incredible.  Unilateral preemptive action by the US or Japan would have to meet a massive burden of proof, as anyone in the neighbourhood would be affected by destabilizing NK and wouldn’t be likely to accept the “sorry, no time” story.

A tactical strike on NK offensive launch sites can be easily done.  Executing it without stirring up the hornets’ nest is less so.

An actual offensive launch from NK would mean their own destruction, and in that case none of this speculation means anything.  From a political standpoint, if NK threatened to use a polar trajectory they would lose a lot of support from China and whatever positive ties they have with Russia.  Even to use a more China-friendly high-latitude trajectory would take a missile over Sakhalin and Kamchatka.  Russia doesn’t want a failed NK nuclear missile raining debris on Kamchatka, and they certainly don’t want any US-bound missile to pass through their airspace.  In a real attack, NK would be committed to death and wouldn’t care about neighbour relations, but whatever.

And these are just fixed, silo-based interceptors.  The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system is installed on at least 16 US Navy ships (cruisers and destroyers) in the Pacific, and there are 4 Japanese destroyers with “operational capabilities”.  PAC-3 Patriots are also available. etc. etc.

Their government doesn’t think like we do about people.

Have you ever read his “official” biography?  I am surprised he doesn’t just make us vanish via mind power like that kid in the old Twilight Zone episode;  “You be dead!”

Memories of wrongs done are long in that part of the world and while Kim Jong makes me ill, the Japanese are quite rightly nervous.

No one need die – yet.

I rather work with China trying to get North Korea to get it finally to snap out of dictatorship and into the path of a democracy.