In retrospect, I am pretty guilty of downplaying or waving off this threat. I still remember guffawing when GWB Jr. described Iran, Iraq and North Korea as the axis of evil. He was two-thirds wrong, but when it came to North Korea, history has proven him to be correct in his sense of urgency and the strength of his words. It would have been far preferable to handle this situation prior to their sustained successes with nuclear weapons, and the international community was simply wrong about the timescale they would be developed - as was I.
The only way to avoid a military conflict, as far as I can see, is for China to handle this problem and assume control of North Korea, directly or indirectly. If that doesn't happen, I don't see any viable way to remove the regime without direct military conflict.