Kim Jong-un is a man of peace. Seriously.
He is rattling the cage now so that he can better terms and conditions for himself and his people. He is in a tight spot (South Korea and China don't want North Korea to collapse - so cannot help.)
His power play is straight out of the book of Answar Sadat. He was president of Egypt and wanted peace with Israel. And in order to get the best terms possible - he launched the Yom Kippur war. And it worked. After signing the peace treaty with Israel - Egypt received billions of dollars in US foreign aid and military spending right up until the fall of President Mubarrak.
Indeed - the driving force behind the fall of President Mubarrak was hatred toward the political elite for not being at war with Israel and anger at the co-operation with Israel (and the US). It was this same hatred towards Israel which led to the assasination of Sadat (see below):
Interestingly - the current leader of Al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was arrested and imprisoned in the round-up following this assasination.
Four years after signing the peace treaty, President Sadat was awarded a Nobel Peace Price. And was revered as a man of peace and wisdom in the US.
One day Kim Jong-un will get a Nobel prize as well. The guy was educated in the west, is a huge fan of US pop culture, has just spent time haging with Dennis Rodman, is on Facebook (under a fake name) and my gut feeling tells me he wants a way out, and a better future for his people.
My favourite writer - Peter Hitchens - has done a column which has a similar line of thinking:
http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2...korea.html
So no need to worry about a nuclear war. The guy is just angling for US support to enable a way out for him.