A light snack. Photo: KNS/AFP/Getty Images

When John McCain went on MSNBC last week and called North Korean leader Kim Jong-n a “crazy fat kid,” he may not have known it, but he was essentially declaring war. So says the Foreign Ministry in Pyongyang, where jibes about Kim’s jowls are not tolerated.

The insult hurt the country’s “dignity,” a statement said, and was a “grave provocation little short of declaration of war.” North Korea “will take steps to counter it,” the statement added.

“The service personnel and people of the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) are regarding the dignity of their supreme leadership as their life and soul,” the statement said.

McCain made the remark during an interview with Greta Van Susteren on MSNBC while making the point that China needs to get control of Kim.

It’s no surprise to see Pyongyang getting twisted into knots over a crack about Kim’s weight. The 33-year-old is said to be very sensitive about the subject. Late last year, the BBC reported that China was cracking down on social-media users referring to him as “Kim the Fat.”

McCain responded to the bluster out of Pyongyang on Twitter Wednesday and it’s safe to say that Dear Leader won’t like this either.