It feels more like the US is going to dig in for the long run. Restart the military industrial complex, get their allies to make more weapons and ammo (the South Koreans in particular, since they still have a strong industrial base and stand to make billions off of helping the US), and just keep the war going until the Trump administration is swept out of power (likely, given its bad optics, unless they declare martial law and seize permanent power).
Speaking of South Korea. The South Korean air force is weaker than the Israeli air force, has much lower air defense, and is connected by land to North Korea.Btw i wonder what are the feelings in Seoul - they have nowhere near comparable ABM assets to ME nations.
I.e. they're as good as naked.
Iran just validated North Korean doctrine and showed you do not need air power to achieve the strike effects of air power. And unlike Iran which can't exploit the gap opened by missiles and drones, North Korea can with ground forces. South Korea's army is literally weaker than ever due to its demographic problems, and is exceptionally immobile because the Straits of Hormuz closing puts them on an oil clock.
Once the 4th carrier leaves Japan and all the THAADs and Patriots are transferred to the Middle East, it might be go time. This could be the chance of the century for Kim Jong Un, and he's already got both his own arsenal and the treaties signed with China and Russia as his backing.