After months of stalled nuclear negotiations and ratcheting up rhetoric, North Korea has promised to deliver a 'Christmas gift' to the U.S. -- a warning that has American and South Korean officials on high alert this week for a potential long-range missile test. If so, it would be the first
After months of stalled nuclear negotiations and ratcheting up rhetoric, North Korea has promised to deliver a"Christmas gift" to the U.S. -- a warning that has American and South Korean officials on high alert this week for a potential long-range missile test.
The threat of a test even has commercial airliners on edge. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued an alert earlier this month warning of"longer-range missile test launches prior to the end of 2019, or in the early part of 2020," according to a threat analysis obtained by ABC News. The two leaders have stayed on friendly terms, meeting again in June in a historic face-to-face at the Demilitarized Zone between the Koreas. Trump tweeted on Dec. 8 that Kim"is too smart and has far too much to lose, everything actually, if he acts in a hostile way.
Story continuesSpeculation on the"Christmas gift" has focused on a long-range missile. Gen. Charles Brown, U.S. Pacific Air Forces commander, said last week that he expects"some kind of long-range ballistic missile" test. But launching a long-range missile would be especially provocative, risking drawing the ire of allies China and Russia and stirring U.N. condemnation. It would also leave Pyongyang with few options for escalation and could force Trump's hand to a hardline approach, according to the Korea Institute for National Unification, a South Korean think tank.
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