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Experts: N. Korea's 'Christmas Gift' Might Come Another Day

Christy Lee

   WASHINGTON - North Korea's "Christmas gift" might be still to come as
   Pyongyang is likely to ramp up military tensions and the threats of
   missile launches to gain concessions from the U.S., said experts, as
   tensions heighten on the Korean peninsula.

   "I think we would be a bit premature in saying that North Korea did not
   deliver a 'Christmas gift,'" said Bruce Bennett, a senior defense
   analyst at the Rand Corp. research center, adding that the North Korean
   leader "could still commit a provocation of some kind in the coming
   days and call it a 'Christmas gift.'"

   Although North Korea has not sent a "Christmas gift" it warned of
   earlier in December, the U.S. is continuing to monitor actively for any
   signs of provocations on the Korean peninsula amidst concerns that it
   would launch a long-range missile.

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