"It's all a sham to get some economic aid from the US/Europe etc. as the dude on ABC news was explaining..."
Spot on, pibroch. NK is broke & starving, Kim fears he is losing control of his people and badly needs aid. He would have absolutely no intention of sparking a full-blown war.
BUT, someone else who may benefit from a war might take advantage of the situation & ensure that a war does occur. Therein lies the danger.... Remember, China does not accept that NK sank the SK corvette....and in this instance NK claims they were shelled first...
