By Jun Ji-hye
U.S. foreign policy experts have assessed that potential military conflict between the United States and North Korea would be one of the biggest security threats in the upcoming year, according to a report issued by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Monday.
The CFR said its Center for Preventive Action (CPA) conducted a survey asking foreign policy experts to rank 30 ongoing or potential conflicts. Of them, eight conflicts were considered "top tier" risks.
Among the eight conflicts, "military conflict involving the United States, North Korea and its neighboring countries" was placed first.
On Nov. 29, the North launched what it claimed was a new, more powerful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) called the Hwasong-15, which flew 960 kilometers for 53 minutes and reached a maximum altitude of 4,475 kilometers.
At the time, the Kim Jong-un regime said the Hwasong-15 ICBM is capable of being tipped with a "super-large heavy warhead which is capable of striking the entire mainland of the U.S."
Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim exchanged personal insults and threats of war, with the former threatening to "totally destroy" the North. Kim also threatened to exercise "a corresponding, highest level of hard-line countermeasures in history."
Other security threats placed on the eight top tier risks also included "an armed confrontation between Iran and the United States or one of its allies over Iran's involvement in regional conflicts and support of militant proxy groups, including the Yemeni Houthis and Lebanese Hezbollah" and "a highly disruptive cyberattack on U.S. critical infrastructure and networks."
U.S. foreign policy experts have assessed that potential military conflict between the United States and North Korea would be one of the biggest security threats in the upcoming year, according to a report issued by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Monday.
The CFR said its Center for Preventive Action (CPA) conducted a survey asking foreign policy experts to rank 30 ongoing or potential conflicts. Of them, eight conflicts were considered "top tier" risks.
Among the eight conflicts, "military conflict involving the United States, North Korea and its neighboring countries" was placed first.
On Nov. 29, the North launched what it claimed was a new, more powerful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) called the Hwasong-15, which flew 960 kilometers for 53 minutes and reached a maximum altitude of 4,475 kilometers.
At the time, the Kim Jong-un regime said the Hwasong-15 ICBM is capable of being tipped with a "super-large heavy warhead which is capable of striking the entire mainland of the U.S."
Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim exchanged personal insults and threats of war, with the former threatening to "totally destroy" the North. Kim also threatened to exercise "a corresponding, highest level of hard-line countermeasures in history."
Other security threats placed on the eight top tier risks also included "an armed confrontation between Iran and the United States or one of its allies over Iran's involvement in regional conflicts and support of militant proxy groups, including the Yemeni Houthis and Lebanese Hezbollah" and "a highly disruptive cyberattack on U.S. critical infrastructure and networks."
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