200 reasons why North Korea declaring war is nothing new

North Korea has been crying wolf so often, it’s hard to get too excited by the “declaration of war” this week by Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho.

Did not the North Koreans declare war after the release of The Interview three years ago? Did we not hear war declarations while North and South Korean troops had a near shoot-out across the demilitarised zone two years ago? And those outbursts paled beside the “declaration of nuclear war” a year after US president George W. Bush included the North in an “axis of evil.”

Leave it to NK News to tabulate how often the words “declaration of war” have appeared in the North’s Korean Central News Agency. The term, by NK News’ count, has come up more than 200 times over the past 20 years in contexts ranging from UN sanctions after the North’s first nuclear test in 2006 to revelations of lucrative drug and counterfeit-money industries.

Would US President Donald Trump not order an attack on the missile or artillery battery behind any attack? Would not such a strike carry risk of the North striking back at South Korean targets?

The scenario gets even more alarming if Kim Jong-un orders an attack on US planes flying over South Korean territory. Those shots would land on South Korean soil, provoking not only the US but South Korea to fire in return.

We can be sure South Korean President Moon Jae-in would be uncomfortable having to decide whether to fire back, as Moon still holds out hope of bringing the North to the negotiating table.