At this point there is no good outcome for the majority of the North Korean people. There is a report circulating on Daily NK that is perhaps a more disturbing thought. The title of the article is
North Korea Threatens Domestic Annihilation www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=5116 . Any leader of any country who would even consider using nukes against his own people is more than a few fries short of a Happy Meal. He is down right insane. It also shows the depth of trouble that the regime is in if they would threaten their own military with their own nuclear weapons.
With a civil war somewhat precluded by the above article, presuming it is accurate, a collapse of the North Korean economy and a massive aid program by South Korea, The PRC, Russia and the US would be the best outcome. Unfortunately, Kim would most likely go to war as opposed to letting something like that happen.
About the only thing that can be said with certainty is that we can judge the economic stress that North Korea is under by the level of outlandish behavior coming out of the North.
Si vis pacem, para bellum.
Bigbird