By Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes
Reporting from Washington
Jan. 25, 2024
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.
““The statements and policy changes are part of a broader strategy to destabilize and create anxiety,” said Jean H. Lee, a fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu. She added that she thought Mr. Kim could take military action in an area like the West Sea, or Yellow Sea, where there are South Korean islands — including the one that Mr. Kim’s father shelled in 2010 — and where the North disputes a maritime border.”
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