Thats the danger of "group think"
I think you might be right:
One or two desparate leaders at the top have brainwasher their followers into believing that they have been and are currently under attack. They have eliminated all internal opposition and now there are no checks or balances in place inside the NK government to promote reason and sanity.
Its not unlike Japan just before WWII.
If there is a war, I would be surpised if it ended with North Korean civilians jumping off cliffs into the sea rather than surrendering to American or South Korean troops.
Scott