North Korea may resort to military actions in protest of US, South Korea, Japan summit

North Korea may initiate military actions, including launching an intercontinental ballistic missile, in protest of an upcoming summit involving the United States, South Korea, and Japan, a South Korean legislator revealed on Thursday, citing the country’s intelligence agency. US President Joe Biden is set to convene a meeting at Camp David alongside South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday. The gathering aims to strengthen ties between Seoul and Tokyo, especially in light of nuclear threats posed by North Korea and China’s growing influence in the region. North Korea has openly criticized the increasing military collaboration among these three nations, asserting that it could lay the groundwork for an unsettling parallel to the establishment of an “Asian version of NATO.” The reclusive state could also attempt another spy satellite launch at the end of August or early September after failing to put the country’s first such platform into space in May, Yoo Sang-bum, a member of the South Korean parliament, told reporters after meeting the chief of the National Intelligence Service. Yoo said there was a chance the North would launch the satellite to celebrate its founding anniversary on Sept. 9. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has prioritised conducting a launch during the second half of this year, Yoo noted. North Korea and Russia agreed on broad defence cooperation when the Russian defence minister met Kim last month and watched a military parade with him in Pyongyang, Yoo quoted South Korean intelligence as saying. “The National Intelligence Service is anticipating that Russia and North Korea will speed up their defence cooperation and it is closely tracing movements” to spot any possible Russian transfer of nuclear missile technology to Pyongyang, the lawmaker said. The United States has accused North Korea of providing weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine, which it calls a “special operation”, including artillery shells, shoulder-fired rockets and missiles. Pyongyang and Moscow have denied arms transactions. With inputs from agencies.