Russia and DPRK may be planning military provocation ahead of US elections
Photo: DPRK leader Kim Jong-un and Russian leader Vladimir Putin (photo by kremlin.ru)
Russia and North Korea may be preparing a large-scale military provocation in October, just before the U.S. presidential elections scheduled for early November, according to the American media outlet NBC News.
According to American media, U.S. officials are preparing for North Korea to potentially engage in its most provocative military actions in the last decade before these U.S. elections.
Several high-ranking American officials told reporters that Pyongyang is likely to do this at the insistence of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
According to them, the timing of the provocation may be designed to cause unrest in another part of the world while "Americans decide whether to send President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump back to the White House," writes NBC News.
"We have no doubt that North Korea will be provocative this year. It's just a matter of how escalatory it is," the U.S. intelligence representative told the media.
The Biden administration is increasingly concerned that the strengthening military alliance between Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could significantly expand Pyongyang's nuclear capabilities and increase tensions in the Asia-Pacific region.
Since it is expected that the Russian dictator will visit North Korea and meet with Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks, U.S. officials believe they will solidify a new agreement to expand the transfer of military technology to Pyongyang.
Russia-North Korea alliance
U.S. intelligence officials believe that Putin is providing North Korea with technology to create nuclear submarines and ballistic missiles in exchange for Pyongyang sending a large quantity of ammunition to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine. North Korea is likely supplying Russia with more ammunition than Europe is providing to Ukraine, including millions of artillery shells.
U.S. officials warned that the North Korean ammunition being transferred to Russia is likely old and unreliable. However, shipments of shells were sent from North Korea to Moscow during a shortage of such ammunition among Ukrainian Defense Forces, impacting the battlefield.
American officials also stated that in exchange for supplying ammunition to Moscow, North Korea wants Russia to provide it with ballistic missile components, aircraft, missiles, armored vehicles, and other advanced technologies.
It is worth noting that in recent months, North Korea has continued to develop its missile program, including testing a solid-fuel engine for a hypersonic missile.
Previously, it was reported that in May, North Korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea during Putin's visit to China.
Additionally, on May 20, U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Robert Wood, stated that Russia had purchased over 11,000 containers of weapons from North Korea for use in the war against Ukraine.
