Every year that goes by, NK edges closer and closer to achieving meaningful nuclear capabilities. Once they reach this point, it will no longer be realistic to attack them, as they'll have that ol' mutually assured destruction card in their back pocket.

To me, it's clear that doing nothing and letting this happen would be unethical. The North Korea problem is a hostage crisis in disguise. You have upwards of 25 million people lacking in basic human rights, being denied freedom of thought/expression, suffering under a brutal, iron-handed regime that doesn't permit anyone to leave/defect.

When a country commits crimes of humanity against its own people, the international community is supposed to step in and intervene. They were late in their response to the Rwandan genocide and because of that failure and others like it, every member of the UN endorsed a commitment to an idea called the 'Responsibility to Protect' (R2P). It means the world, as a whole, has a responsibility to step in and handle crimes against humanity as they happen, even if it's being committed by a country's rulers.

The UNHRC has known since 2014 of crimes against humanity perpetrated by the North Korean regime (google Kirby Commission), and people have been talking about potential forceful R2P action since then. If this proposal were to reach the UN Security Council, I reckon it's 50/50 whether China or Russia would block it. They're under a heck of a lot of international pressure to condemn and distance themselves from North Korea and they've been slowly succumbing to that recently - At the same time though, I imagine the prospect of a united, pro-Western Korea on China's doorstep doesn't sound too great to the Chinese.

tldr; North Koreans are being held hostage, why shouldn't we go in and liberate them? It's the correct ethical choice and we all agreed that we have a duty to free them.

Should we or shouldn't we? Why?