Lets face it, South Korea are probably chomping at the bit to retaliate at the North. How could they not be given what SK have to put up with.
Irrespective of emotion and desire SK know that they need the backing of their allies in order to do anything. North Korea know that SKs allies are pretty heavily stretched at the moment on other fronts. NK are using this window of opportunity to put in the boot while the dog is on its chain and can't bite back. NK think that other countries will see them as strong because they did this and got away with it. They also think that they can extract other incentives from the West and save face in doing so. They will most likely keep kicking away until they get the concessions that they want. Well thats the simple view of things anyway.
At a more sinister level NK is probably getting egged on by a 3rd party. NK obviously think the 3rd party will back them if things actually flare up. NK know that it has to look like they were defending themselves to get more overt support out of the 3rd party than just the weapons that they have been receiving for decades.
If there is one thing that the world learned from the cold war it is surely that the struggle to be top dog is ultimately won or lost on economics rather than actual military exchanges. Any war between NK and SK would further stretch the west at a time that the US in particular can least afford it. Trillions of additional dollars would have to be borrowed by the US govt to support this additional campaign. Money they simply can't afford after trillions have been spent on stimulus packages. With half of Europe on the verge of financial collapse which European countries would offer to help ?
The Russians must be sitting back laughing. The US is being played by somebody new and is losing at its own game. In reality there is no new player at all. The US has been here before and lost. We all have.
History shows us that large scale political instability occurs during times of economic crisis. Ideologies that most of us reject suddenly become appealing to some during such times. Just look what happened in the first half of the 20th century.
North Korea is but a pawn in the game. Lets not underestimate what sort of global implications there may be if recent arrogance continues.
