The Norks have played this game for decades. I daresay it’s an act. They know they would be annihilated several times over if they launched nukes at Guam, the USA, or any of our allies. We’d pound them into dust.
The Norks do this because it paid off in the past. The more they stomped and pouted, the more likely the USA was to offer concessions, but Trump doesn’t appear to be willing to play.
I can’t really blame the North Koreans for giving it a shot (no pun intended). It worked in the past, and historically, it cost them little or nothing. It also has the side benefit of keeping their own citizens oppressed. A constant state of crisis and imminent war justifies all sorts of deprivations, like in the novel 1984.
You think with a million man army “ General” Jong-Un has to keep the military focused and directed on an external threat? Otherwise his generals might just have time to think about alternatives to this 34 yr old know- nothing who inherited the country
Thats another reason North Korea can never live peacefully
These seniors surrounding him are the most cunning survivors of a military leadership he purged after coming to power. They all know that in just 4 years he managed to kill off 3 generations of family members including his older brother - just to keep them aware of what he can and will do - on a whim