Many ask the question "What does North Korea really want?" The Guardian answers this way: "Beneath bloodcurdling threats of nuclear war, the North Korean leader's agenda is simple: survival".

But why go about it this way? One reason may be to unite the North Korean military and to win the trust of the people. Another reason may be that a credible nuclear deterrent is the first step towards extracting aid and other concessions from the United States, and repairing the damage U.N. sanctions have inflicted on an already fragile economy.

The Guardian asked the president of Open Radio for North Korea, Kim Ik-hwan, for his input on the current situation and the North Korean leader. Kim Ik-hwan stated that the leader is "young and unpredictable" and "even more aggressive than his father". With someone like that at the helm, no one knows for sure how far these provocations will go or what the end result will be.