North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday ordered the Korean People's Army (KPA) to enter a wartime state and be full prepared for battle. South Korea fired dozens of shells on Thursday in retaliation to alleged artillery attacks from the North. But the KPA said claims that the first shell had come from the North were a fabrication.

Before this, South Korea had relaunched the broadcast of propaganda against the North over the Demilitarized Zone, after alleging the North was behind the mine blasts that injured two South Korean soldiers near the border on August 4. North Korea denied the allegation, demanding the South to stop the broadcast, or it will take "strong military action."

The short-time peace on the Korean Peninsula seems to have come to a stop. But is it a normal cycle of tension and peace, or the beginning of an upgraded conflict?

Military observers noted that the current situation still gives room to maneuver. Whether South Korea will withdraw the propaganda broadcast, or whether North Korea will take further actions in retaliation, will decide the direction of the current situation.

North Korea's determination in military action is similar to the past. The current North Korean government is no more radical than before. But this time the South has responded very fast, and heavy-handedly. A joint battle plan to retaliate against "North Korea provocation" was initiated on Thursday.

The anti-North Korea loudspeakers have long been hated by Pyongyang. If they blare for one more day, North Korea will be agitated for  one more day, and the tension will be difficult to ease.

The South and North are not willing to start a full-scale war, and no one is instigating a war. As a result, the new round of frictions may not be explosive, and can be dissolved by previous experiences. After all, escalation will do no good to either side.

Unless the conflicts deteriorate, South Korean President Park Geun-hye is not likely to cancel her visit to China in early September for commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the victory of World War II. There is no sign that someone may be trying to make trouble for Park's China trip. If there is any, China will be absolutely against it.

Years ago there was a crisis when North Korea launched even stronger rhetoric than today, asking South Korea to stop the propaganda broadcasts. The crisis was resolved after both sides made compromises.

Now, everything else is similar, save that North Korea has a new leader. We hope the two Koreas can follow their previous "hidden rules" to resolve the crisis, and not create new risks.