U.S. officials warn of possible N.K. 'lethal' military action against S. Korea in coming months: NYT

▲ This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Jan. 16, 2024, shows the North's leader Kim Jong-un delivering a speech at the 10th session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly held in Pyongyang the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

US-NK threats

U.S. officials warn of possible N.K. 'lethal' military action against S. Korea in coming months: NYT

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) -- U.S. officials have warned that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could take some form of "lethal" military action against South Korea in the coming months, though they do not see an imminent risk of a full-blown war on the Korean Peninsula, The New York Times reported Thursday.

Their forecast came amid growing concerns about the possibility of North Korean provocations following Kim's pugnacious rhetoric against South Korea and his regime's repeated weapons tests, including this week's launch of what it claimed was a new strategic cruise missile.

The U.S. daily said that the U.S. officials made the assessment, noting that Kim's tough rhetoric against the South has been more aggressive than his 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," the article read.

The officials also took as an example the North's artillery shelling of the South Korean border island of Yeonpyeong in 2010, which resulted in four South Korean deaths, including two Marines.

In December, South Korea's National Intelligence Service also raised the possibility of North Korea engaging in military provocations this year ahead of the South's parliamentary elections in April and the United States' presidential election in November.

Concerns about the North's saber-rattling have risen as Kim has called for beefed-up war readiness and preparations for a "great event to suppress South Korea's whole territory in the event of a contingency." Kim has also pushed for a constitutional revision to label the South as the "invariable principal enemy."

Last Friday, John Kirby, the U.S. National Security Council (NSC) coordinator for strategic communications, noted the need to take Kim's rhetoric "seriously."

"You have to take rhetoric like that seriously from a man in charge of the regime that continues to pursue advanced military capabilities, including nuclear capabilities," Kirby told a press briefing.

The North's provocative streak comes amid already heightened cross-border tensions following the North's exit from an 2018 inter-Korean military agreement aimed at reducing border tensions and preventing accidental clashes.

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