An Air Force general predicted that North Korea’s threat of a “Christmas gift” might be a long-range missile.
Earlier this month, Pyongyang warned that it is up to the United States to choose which “Christmas gift” it will receive as North Korea and the U.S. remain at an impasse over nuclear negotiations.
Gen. Charles Brown, 57, commander of Pacific Air Forces and air component commander for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told the Hill on Tuesday that the “gift” could be a resumption of long-range missile tests.
[Related: Pentagon chief warns North Korea likely to resume missile tests if it doesn’t ‘feel satisfied’]
“What I would expect is some type of long-range ballistic missile would be the gift. It’s just a matter of does it come on Christmas Eve, does it come on Christmas Day, does it come after the New Year,” Brown said. Although he later noted that the threat could relate to a “range” of other possibilities.
“I think there’s a range of things that could occur,” he told reporters at a roundtable breakfast. “I think there’s also the possibility that the self-imposed moratorium [on long-range tests] may go away and nothing happens right away. [North Korean leader Kim Jong Un] announces it but then doesn’t shoot.”
Last month, North Korea said it was not interested in a “fruitless summit” with the U.S. The hermit nation has fired off dozens of short-range missiles over the past year, raising tensions in neighboring countries like Japan and South Korea.
President Trump said Monday he would be upset if North Korea delivered on its “Christmas gift” threat.
“I would be disappointed if something would be in the works, and if it is, we will take care of it,” Trump said. “We’re watching it very closely.”
