(North Korea issued postage stamps this week featuring the disputed islets also claimed by Japan, in a bid to bolster Korean claims to them, complete with an 18th century map. Photo via AP.)

But there is a deeper, more immediate layer of trouble: By the time Sunday afternoon strikes in the U.S., so will the 101st birthday of Kim Il-Sung, the autocrat who formalized the dynasty's way of rule in the 1960s and '70s and who, according to the history of North Korea, was responsible for single-handedly defeating the Japanese. Just yesterday KCNA, the state-run news agency, pumped out a story about a painting of Kim Il-Sung's white horse, which supposedly saved his life by spotting that North Korea's Supreme Leader was on fire:

And, according to some stories, of course, the horse was magic:

That sort of gives you an impression of how ridiculous — and ridiculously important — this occasion will be in Pyongyang, and particularly to Kim Jong-un and his family history. For showing off. For history. For might. And some experts have long voiced legitimate fears that the Kim might actually do something to mark that occasion, such as sending — or threatening to send — a medium-range missile into the territory of the grandfather of absurdity's favorite enemy.

So what's giving peace a chance? Well, mostly that North Korea has an actual history of making threats it never fulfills. But, at least for planning purposes, nuclear provocations might get in the way of North Korea's big national marathon Sunday to celebrate Kim Il-Sung. "Despite warnings of pre-emptive nuclear strikes and imminent war, ahead of the marathon state TV showed a calm scene in Pyongyang yesterday, with North Koreans holding open air dances in preparation for their April 15 national holiday," reported NK News, which adds, "Held every year on the streets of North Korea’s capital city, the Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon will take place this Sunday as part of a broader multiple-day sports tournament held to commemorate the April 15 birthday of North Korea’s founding leader, Kim Il Sung." There's no way all that open-air dancing would be all for naught, right? Here's a video of last year's marathon:

North Korea's threat against Japan also comes as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke in Seoul on Friday. He offered, as Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon did yesterday, some very practical analysis that North Korea probably doesn't want to hear — a lot of which revolved around not backing down (via the BBC):

The rhetoric that we're hearing from North Korea is simply unacceptable - by any standard - and I am here to make it clear today on behalf of President Obama and the citizens of the United States and our bilateral security agreement, that the United States will, if needed, defend our allies and defend ourselves.

Here's video of Kerry's speech in Seoul on Friday, within the hour of his landing in the South Korean capital: