There is no clear endgame in Afghanistan, other than "the beatings will continue until moral improves".
In North Korea, on the other hand, the endgame is clear: the downfall of the Kim regime, mostly likely followed by integration into South Korea (if China allows, and that's a mighty big if). You're not going to have ordinary North Koreans head for the hills and turn into partisan guerrillas fighting for Juche.
>You're not going to have ordinary North Koreans head for the hills and turn into partisan guerrillas fighting for Juche.
Maybe, but they might be willing to fight invaders. The Korean War that killed 2-3 million civilians doesn't make the US seem like the good guy. The US will be seen as imperialist invaders by the ordinary citizen of the DPRK.
The key difference here is the existence of South Korea. Sure, if the US were to waltz in alone, they'd be treated as the invaders they are. But every North Korean has been fed a steady diet of "Korea is one!" since birth and they're all well aware that their kinsmen in the South are materially better off in every conceivable way -- so when said kinsmen lead the invasion and form the new government, they're not going to get violently rejected in the same way.
The fall of East Germany is instructive: while that imploded internally instead of being triggered from the outside, there was absolutely zero violent resistance to West Germany coming in and essentially taking over. North Korea isn't going to be same level of cakewalk, but it's closer to this end of the spectrum than Afghanistan or Iraq.
> You're not going to have ordinary North Koreans head for the hills and turn into partisan guerrillas fighting for Juche
Famous last words preceding every single failed US military intervention. In fact, preceding most other military interventions in other countries. Probably what Hitler thought as he was invading the USSR. Or what the USSR thought when invading Afghanistan (where, by the way, one of my uncles served, and got his right arm blown off).
Truly, those who have not studied history are doomed to repeat it.
In North Korea, on the other hand, the endgame is clear: the downfall of the Kim regime, mostly likely followed by integration into South Korea (if China allows, and that's a mighty big if). You're not going to have ordinary North Koreans head for the hills and turn into partisan guerrillas fighting for Juche.