That's my feeling as well: somebody, at Yamaha headquarters, must have had a good look at the PA3X-76 sales and then wondered why they were leaving that slice of the pie to Korg.
Re. Korg's counter-move, there are rumors that we could see something at the next Musik-Messe (March 2014); it should be a mix between the PA3X and the Audya (think of a PA3X with more RAM and audio styles).
Finally, speaking of the BK-9, to me it simply lacks the "wow" factor: you read the specs, watch the videos and think "Yes, but..."
Besides, I own already the BK7-m but find it very clumsy to operate, with that plastic wheel that makes the navigation a nightmare (and this is still a problem in the BK-9).