North Korea's actions designed to raise tension, say analysts
Analysts say North Korea's recent behaviour is bluster, but US is taking young leader seriously
If North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un's threats to start a nuclear war are an attempt to get the world's attention, he's succeeded. The question is why?
The answer would go a long way to determining whether war cries emanating from North Korea herald a devastating conflict or, as many analysts say, are just the latest round of provoke- and-retreat behaviour driven by politics in Pyongyang.
Yesterday, North Korea said it would restart a nuclear reactor to feed its atomic weapons programme, in its clearest rebuff yet of UN sanctions at the heart of the soaring tensions.
The aim was to "bolster the nuclear armed force both in quality and quantity", the official KCNA news agency quoted a government spokesman as saying.
Such bluster carries risks of misjudgments or accidents if Kim, new to power after his father's December 2011 death, is not skilful at managing the crisis he has created with missile and nuclear tests, threats against South Korea, and videos depicting attacks on the United States.
"What I fear most of all is that he does not have an 'off ramp' to be able to ratchet back the tensions," David Maxwell, associate director of the Centre for Security Studies at Georgetown University in Washington, said.