In a startling attack yesterday, North Korea bombarded a South Korean island, killing 2 Marines and 2 civilians, raising significant fears of a war. Unlike their previous provocations, this was a direct attack on South Korean soil, and may cause the South to retaliate directly. On the other hand, the sinking of a South Korean warship with the death of 46 crewmen by most presumably, North Korea didn't cause war to break out so if the North backs down then maybe Seoul will not try to push things. This is unfortunate because North Korea seems to have this trend of making threats and carrying out provocations a lot, whether to get attention or aid. Even worse, is that in the past they've carried out much deadlier attacks, even on civilian targets, and Seoul and the West have been reluctant to do much. The North is a true rogue regime, that doesn't care about other countries or its own people, and it's very unfortunate that it has remained in power until now.

One of the biggest stories of late is North Korea's continuous saber-rattling, or should it be missile-rattling, provocations that have raised tensions in neighboring countries, even supposed ally China and the U.S. Its recent sentencing of 2 U.S. journalists to 12 years for spying because they were caught doing a story just within North Korean territory seems tremendously daring, like if they're daring the U.S. to fight. It might be a sign of desperation, especially with South Korea's refusal to be taken advantage of by them in recent years and with the leader's poor health including an alleged stroke. One thing, is that this is one of the worst, if not the, and most unjust regimes in the world. Asia Times has a whole bunch of insightful articles here.
To be honest, one wonders if the best thing the rest of the world can do is call the North's bluff and wait for Pyongyang to actually start a war. The South's military superiority along with American support and possibly Japan as well, would easily defeat North Korea and cause an overthrow of their regime.