How come we cant kill Kim Jong-un how they killed bin laden?

Practically speaking it would be much more difficult. Kim is likely surrounded by a sizable contingent of loyal and well-trained bodyguards. To add to this the NK military is sizable and there are likely military units within a short distance of Kim at all times. The NK military is antiquated but would be able to handle a small commando raid in short order. OBL was an outcast at the time of his murder that was hiding in a house with some followers and his family. He didn't have a sizable contingent of followers or his own military force to protect him. True, the Pakistani military was close by but they didn't know he was there or didn't care to defend him in time.

Politically Bin Laden was an outcast with no nation to call home and no nation wanted to claim him. As a result his death caused no major political ripples in the world. While Pakistan was pissed we conducted a military operation in the heart of their country they knew they couldn't really do anything because A) they missed or hid the fact he was there and B) we give them a ton of foreign aid. North Korea political system would likely survive intact in the event of Kim's death. Somebody in NK would step into the power vacuum and things would likely continue relatively the same as they are now. Additionally, NK is under the protection of China and they have made it clear that western forces are not to take any drastic action against NK. Conducting an assassination raid against Kim, successful or not, would at a minimum spark a major political crisis between China and the US which would have serious economic and political ramifications. At worse it could lead to military conflict that would have the capacity to spiral out of control. Nobody wants that and quite frankly NK isn't worth the hassle. As bad as Nk and Kim may be nobody wants to risk war or the potential cost of trillions of dollars to take out one guy that likely won't change anything for the better.

/r/NoStupidQuestions Thread