Archives The ROK and DPRK - Page 3 of 6 - New Eastern Outlook

Recently the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of China and Modern Asia published a forecast, to which the present author contributed, which noted that the most likely scenario for the outbreak of a conflict on the Korean Peninsula is that it could be sparked by irrational factors, including provocations mounted by a third party.

Pyongyang has successfully conducted a ground-based jet test of a solid-fueled engine for a new type of medium-range hypersonic missile.  Tensions on the Korean peninsula will likely continue to rise, and missile launches, drills, and visits by strategic bombers, aircraft carriers, and nuclear subs to Korea will continue.

The scale of regional tensions has eased somewhat since the end of the joint US-South Korean exercise on March 14, 2024. Both sides made bellicose statements, the South Koreans continued to conduct field training exercises both on their own and with the US, and the North Korean leadership occasionally launched missiles…