North Korea State Of War Declared Against South Korea, But Are They A Threat?

North Korea declared a state of war against South Korea. While no North Korea rocket attacks have taken place, some are wondering whether the regime of Kim Jong-un is serious about this being the time to “settle accounts with the US imperialists.”

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the North Korea UN sanctions situation has been deteriorating for a while now. North Korea claims to have long range missiles and nuclear weapons, and an EMP attack against the United States might be a real threat.

North Korea’s state of war was declared in a statement:

“From this time on, the North-South relations will be entering the state of war and all issues raised between the North and the South will be handled accordingly. The long-standing situation of the Korean peninsula being neither at peace nor at war is finally over.”

North Korea’s rockets are on standby in response to the United States flying two nuclear-capable stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula. South Korea and the United States are currently undergoing their annual joint military exercises, and two radar-evading B-2 Spirit bombers dropped bombs on deserted islands as a practice run for war.

Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, dismisses North Korea’s state of war, saying, “North Korea has a long history of bellicose rhetoric and threats and today’s announcement follows that familiar pattern.”

Richard Bush, senior fellow and director of the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, agrees this “bellicose rhetoric” should not be taken too seriously:

“A lot of it is show for the domestic audience. The North Korean leadership is cynical. They know these are exercises. It’s useful domestically. They get their own people spun up. In worrying about war, maybe that distracts from how hungry they are.”

But if North Korea’s state of war is no farce then Seoul would be bombarded with artillery and missiles could be launched against Japan and Gaum. North Korea has at least 4,000 tanks and a very large, albeit poorly trained, infantry. Any initial assault would face about 28,500 U.S. troops and about 600,000 troops in the South Korean armed forces.

All war game simulations show the United States and South Korea winning, but that’s assuming no other nations, especially China, are drawn into a conflict. The worst case scenario is if a nuclear weapon is snuck on to the battfield. Even in a limited conventional battle the death toll would be at “World War I levels of casualties.”

What do you think about North Korea’s state of war against South Korea?