The Nato chief is saying that North Korea is getting access to Russian missile and nuclear technology, in exchange for troops. If this is true, should South Korea launch a preemptive attack on North Korea before these new technologies are properly integrated and utilized?
No. NK has a bunch of artillery hidden in the forested mountains just north of the border. And and SK has a lot of population centers within within firing distance. And this includes rockets/missiles with some rather spicy warheads.
And rough terrain ensures that a quick blitz to topple the government and their nuclear arsenal won’t work.
Sure, NK will not be able to hold off SK in the long run, especially if SK invites friends. But Seoul will be leveled.
Plus, China really does not want a US ally on its border, and are likely to intervene.
I guess the counter argument would be that the situation will only get worse the longer you wait. That argument has been used many times in history.
It kinda can’t, though. ‘South Korea will be leveled’ is basically the worst imaginable outcome, unless you’re saying they’ll nuke the friends SK invites. Realistically, ‘no nukes/missile strikes at other countries’ is probably going to be China’s only requirement for assistance. Which would make it a horrible grueling land war. Which is going to suck with or without Russian ICBMs in NK.