Why did this country bomb Iraq and not North Korea?

I don't understand why we didn't give Saddam the benefit of the doubt as far as WMD goes. We could've spared many lives with this war by allowing the inspectors to do their job. I know he was a tyrant but so is that N. Korean president who is now very defiant and adamant about his nuclear weapons. He does not try to hide this fact but it appears that the world is taking a more diplomatic approach to this issue with North Korea than with Iraq. I wonder if it's because terrorist threat is more prominent in the Middle East than in Korea and that's why we attacked...or perhaps we're hesitant (or diplomatic) because of China and South Korea. What do ya'll think?