We use recently derived Ward identities and lattice data for the light- and strange-quark condensates to reconstruct the scalar and pseudoscalar susceptibilities (chi _S^kappa , chi _P^K) in the isospin 1/2 channel. We show that chi _S^kappa develops a maximum above the QCD chiral transition, after which it degenerates with chi _P^K. We also obtain chi _S^kappa within Unitarized Chiral Perturbation Theory (UChPT) at finite temperature, when it is saturated with the K_0^*(700) (or kappa ) meson, the dominant lowest-energy state in the isospin 1/2 scalar channel of pi K scattering. Such UChPT result reproduces the expected peak structure, revealing the importance of thermal interactions, and makes it possible to examine the chi _S^kappa dependence on the light- and strange-quark masses. A consistent picture emerges controlled by the m_l/m_s ratio that allows one studying K-kappa degeneration in the chiral, two-flavor and SU(3) limits. These results provide an alternative sign for O(4)times U(1)_A restoration that can be explored in lattice simulations and highlight the role of strangeness, which regulated by the strange-quark condensate helps to reconcile the current tension among lattice results regarding U(1)_A restoration.