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▲A U.S. security expert issued a warning against North Korea's provocations.<Photographic Editing Raphel Lee> ©aubreaknews
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A message came out that North Korea could launch a military provocation within weeks, paying attention to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden.
Evans Revere, a former senior U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday (local time), "We can see North Korea conduct a nuclear test or a long-range ballistic missile test in the next few weeks. This is aimed at sending a strong message to Biden." He also said that Biden would have put other pending issues, including domestic issues, on top of his policy agenda, adding that Pyongyang has a way to get the U.S. to pay attention to itself.
North Korea has fired missiles even in the early days of former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. In the early days of Obama's presidency, he attempted to take a "bold approach" toward North Korea, but after Pyongyang's repeated provocations, including its second nuclear test in May 2009, he shifted his North Korea policy to a strict stance, described as "strategic patience."
Sharon Squasoni, a professor at George Washington University in the U.S., also said, "Even if North Korea does not provoke the U.S. through more missile tests, the North Korean issue will be the top foreign policy goal from the beginning of Biden's term."
Wakas Adenwala, an Asian analyst at Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), also said, "North Korea often attempts to remain meaningful by conducting various missile tests. This will make the North Korean issue a key foreign policy priority."
In response, Mark Fitzpatrick, former deputy assistant secretary of state for nonproliferation at the U.S. State Department, told Radio Free Asia (RFA) on the 9th that North Korea conducted a nuclear test in the early days of the Barack Obama administration in 2009. If it launches a provocation, it will put a damper on its willingness to negotiate.
Gary Seymour, former White House policy coordinator for weapons of mass destruction, also said, "The next U.S. administration will make political gestures such as easing sanctions or an armistice agreement that corresponds to the progress of North Korea's denuclearization," adding, "What is important is that tensions between the U.S. and North Korea will rise again if the North launches provocations."
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