US sees no ‘imminent’ war with N.Korea

AFP :
The United States does not see signs of “imminent” war by North Korea despite a slew of confrontational actions and its refusal to talk to Washington, a top policymaker said Thursday.
Jung Pak, the State Department senior official handling North Korea, said the United States was taking no chances and would work to bolster deterrence with allies Japan and South Korea — but saw no recent notable shift. “Fundamentally, I don’t think Kim’s posture has changed,” she said of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “I don’t see an imminent or direct attack at this point.”
“I’ll also say that it’s clear that Kim has decided that now’s not the time that they want to be having dialogue and diplomacy, especially not with the United States, but clearly they’re doing that with Russia,” she told reporters.
So far this year, Kim has declared South Korea his country’s “principal enemy,” jettisoned agencies dedicated to reunification and outreach, and threatened war over “even 0.001 mm” of territorial infringement. Pyongyang has also ramped up weapons tests, including for cruise missiles, an “underwater nuclear weapon system” and a solid-fueled hypersonic ballistic missile.