The United States is not seeing indications of a direct military threat from North Korea at the moment, a US official said Thursday, after Washington officials were reported to have warned North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could take some “lethal” military action against South Korea in the coming months.
Earlier in the day, The New York Times reported on the possibility of the North’s military action as concerns rose over Kim’s pugnacious rhetoric against the South and his regime’s repeated weapons tests, including this week’s launch of what it claimed to be a new strategic cruise missile.
“While we are not seeing indications of a direct military threat at this time, we continue to monitor for the risk of DPRK military action against the ROK and Japan, in close consultation with our ROK and Japanese allies,” the official said in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency.
