The North Korean situation is bad, as usual. We face a series of options, ranging from hopelessly naive to downright horrible. Here’s the view of Michael O’Hanlon, a key Democratic defense and foreign policy expert. I find his proposal for a comprehensive political and economic reform of North Korea completely implausible. It amounts to the claim that we can obtain regime change through negotiations. O’Hanlon himself is clear that Korea’s leaders are likely to reject such an effort. He seems to see his plan more as something that must be tried (even if it fails, which is likely) as a prelude to tougher measures. But what really comes through here is an underlying sense, even from a Democrat who favors an ambitious negotiating strategy, that this conflict is a pressing crisis that has no real solution.