WI: Second Korean War, 1994

As I'm certain is common knowledge here, in 1994 the United States and North Korea were on the brink of war in 1994 over the latter nation's nuclear program. The U.S. was mulling a first strike with F-117s and Tomahawks to eliminate the North Korean nuclear program, but decided that would inevitably lead to war. Instead, the U.S. opted for severe economic sanctions against the Kim regime, but there was a very real fear that the Norks would take such sanctions as an act of war and attack the South. As such, the U.S. leadership wanted to reinforce U.S. forces in Korea and evacuate American citizens, but even still, there was a fear that the North Koreans would interpret such moves as preparations for an attack on the DPRK and strike first.

Faced with few good options, the Clinton administration was surprised to learn that former President Jimmy Carter, visiting NK as a private citizen, had negotiated a deal with Kim Il Sung. North Korea agreed to cease it's nuclear program in exchange for reactors incapable of making weapons-grade plutonium and a few shipments of oil.

But what if things had been different? What if Clinton decided that the U.S. could not risk any chance of a nuclear-armed North Korea and had ordered a strike against the North Korean nuclear plant? Or what if Carter had not gone to Pyongyang and the U.S. went through with it's buildup and evacuation, prompting a North Korean first strike?

How would China and Russia respond to such a conflict at this time? What would this do to Clinton's chances of reelection in 1996? What social and cultural effects would a Second Korean War have on the 1990s, IOTL remembered as a relatively peaceful time for the United States?
 
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