U.S. eyes N. Korea for possible ‘Christmas gift’ missile test

In response to North Korea’s threat of a “Christmas gift,” the United States have deployed four reconnaissance aircrafts on Christmas. “We’ll find out what the surprise is and we’ll deal with it very successfully,” said U.S. President Donald Trump when asked about possible provocations from the North. “I may get a nice present from him.” While pressuring Pyongyang not to carry out Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) tests, he also highlighted his long-standing personal relationships with Kim.

Aircraft Spots, which monitors military air movements, has spotted U.S. Air Force’s RC-135W, E-8C, RQ-4 and RC-135S, on task over the Korean Peninsular and the East Sea. On Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, these four spy aircrafts closely monitored movements in North Korea, both on the land and in the waters. The monitoring aircrafts, which had their position identification devices on, publicly warned North Korea, saying they were watching.

After a video conference with the U.S. Army on Tuesday, President Trump who is in Mar-a-Lago club in Florida for the holidays said to the press, “Maybe it’s a present where he sends me a beautiful vase as opposed to a missile test,” adding “You never know. Let’s see what happens.”

Meanwhile, the South Korean government is looking at the possibility of North Korea convening an all-member conference. “It might be held on Wednesday or Thursday”, said a source from the government.


In-Chan Hwang hic@donga.com