Originally Posted by
Tourist
Not really true.
For a long time, and possibly even now, China has been there giving top cover.
I don't know about you, but I reckon that the US might have made a move in the years leading up to North Korea getting their own deterrent if they were sure that China would stand back.
Tourist: NK is an anomaly, and is a "nothing to lose" player at a game table. Comparing NK to pretty much anyone else is a loser's gambit.
Pakistan is in a different situation. Your
scare mongering is badly attempted, and utterly misses the actual geopolitics in that region by a mile.