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U.S. Is Watching North Korea for Signs of Lethal Military Action
A shift by Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, toward open hostility against South Korea is alarming but does not indicate he is about to start a full-scale war, officials say.
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A news broadcast in South Korea on Wednesday reported North Korea firing cruise missiles toward the Yellow Sea, the latest in a series of recent provocations. Credit...Jung Yeon-Je/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
By Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes
Reporting from Washington
Jan. 25, 2024Updated 2:41 p.m. ET
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North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, could take some form of lethal military action against South Korea in the coming months after having shifted to a policy of open hostility, U.S. officials say.
The officials have assessed that Mr. Kim’s recent harder line is part of a pattern of provocations, but that his declarations have been more aggressive than previous statements and should be taken seriously.
While the officials added that they did not see an imminent risk of a full-scale war on the Korean Peninsula, Mr. Kim could carry out strikes in a way that he thinks would avoid rapid escalation.
They pointed to North Korea’s shelling of a South Korean island in 2010 as an example. The two sides exchanged artillery fire, resulting in the reported deaths of troops on both sides as well as civilians in the South, but both militaries soon stopped.
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Edward Wong is a diplomatic correspondent who has reported for The Times for more than 24 years from New York, Baghdad, Beijing and Washington. He was on a team of Pulitzer Prize finalists for Iraq War coverage. More about Edward Wong
Julian E. Barnes covers the U.S. intelligence agencies and international security matters for The Times. He has written about security issues for more than two decades. More about Julian E. Barnes
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