There is a grave danger the world will underplay the risks posed by North Korea's astonishing, bellicose rhetoric and threats of the past week.
Pyongyang has threatened to launch nuclear strikes against the US, to attack US and South Korean targets in South Korea, declared that it is "at war" with South Korea and is now threatening to close the joint industrial zone it runs with the south in Kaesong, which nets the impoverished North $US2 billion ($1.9bn) a year in hard currency.
Foreign Minister Bob Carr is right to say that North Korea "continues to pose a genuine threat to the safety of millions of people in our region".
But in their reluctance to reward the brinkmanship of North Korea's bizarre dictator, Kim Jong-un, too many are playing down the real danger of his recent threats.
They argue that these are just the latest example of Kim's posturing designed to grab attention and secure concessions from Washington and Seoul.
This analysis is altogether too sanguine.
Until recently, Western intelligence was unanimous in the view that Kim is unchallenged at the apex of North Korean power.
Each of his provocations was seen as further solidifying his position with the North Korean military and perhaps being a precursor to negotiations and more reasonable behaviour in the future.
This analysis no longer stands up.
The extreme nature of Kim's threats, and the damage he does to his own regime by provoking tougher UN sanctions and now possibly the loss of billions of dollars through the Kaesong project, suggest something else.
Kim's actions undoubtedly have a domestic as well as international audience.
In truth, Western intelligence knows almost nothing about the internal workings of the North Korean leadership.
There are no Western agents in Pyongyang - though intelligence agencies sometimes try to recruit senior North Koreans when they travel - and very little useful electronic eavesdropping.
There is every chance that Kim's extreme actions are the external manifestation of instability, if not conflict, within the North's leadership.
This would make the situation much more unpredictable and dangerous.
