North Korea's "Christmas gift" might be still to come as Pyongyang is likely to ramp up military tensions and the threats of missile launches to gain concessions from the U.S., said experts, as tensions heighten on the Korean peninsula.
As Pyongyang appears to be preparing to launch a long-range missile, experts see an end to a diplomatic process Washington has pursued to denuclearize North Korea.
Washington's call for a sharp increase in Seoul's share of its defense costs is an untimely demand that could put the readiness of the combined U.S. and South Korean forces at risk at a time when North Korea is escalating threats, said experts.
Despite Washington’s efforts to maintain a dialog with Pyongyang, chances for a diplomatic breakthrough leading to the denuclearization of North Korea are fading away, said experts, as the two nations remain locked in their position.
Eleven North Korean defectors detained in Vietnam are asking the South Korean government to provide asylum in Seoul so they can avoid being deported to North Korea, according to a South Korean activist group.
Washington’s defense cost-sharing demand could hurt the U.S.-South Korean alliance, said a former military general, suggesting the demand seems to stem from “a new paradigm” the Trump administration has adopted.
U.S. and North Korean officials held a meeting at a nonproliferation conference in Moscow, a former U.S. official who attended the conference told VOA’s Korean Service, as the denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington remain deadlocked.
The U.S.-South Korean alliance is strained by their differences over military pacts, and if the allies fail to reach agreements, Seoul’s national security could be at risk, experts said.
The U.S. intends to hold aerial exercises with South Korea as planned, despite North Korea's accusation that the joint drills are "confrontational."
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