US intelligence sees North Korean provocation around October

U.S. intelligence authorities believe North Korea could engage in a provocative act around the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party in October, a South Korean lawmaker said Monday.

An American intelligence official made the remark during a meeting with Rep. Kim Moo-sung, chairman of South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party without saying what provocation it would be, according to the party's spokesman, Rep. Kim Young-woo, who was present in the meeting.

Kim did not identify the U.S. intelligence official.

South Korean officials have said the North could conduct a long-range rocket or missile test around the October anniversary as the regime has completed the upgrading of its west coast rocket launch site so as to make it accommodate bigger rockets.

The U.S. intelligence official was also quoted as saying that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to be making major policy decisions on his own, and the execution of close aides is believed to be part of a process to consolidate his grip on power.

The official also said the U.S. is paying greater attention to the North's human rights abuses.

Referring to the North's test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile in May, the U.S. official also told South Korean lawmakers that the U.S. is taking note of the fact that the missile was fired from under water, according to the spokesman.

The U.S. official was also quoted as saying that relations between China and North Korea are not good, but Beijing is against imposing sanctions strong enough to put the North into trouble.

Kim has been on a nine-day visit to the U.S. since Saturday.

 Also Monday, Kim delivered an address at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, stressing that South Korea and the U.S. should put together an alternative convincing enough for North Korea to give up its "byeongjin" policy of pursuing economic and nuclear development at the same time.

The U.S. should exercise creativity to come up with such an alternative so as to end the standoff over the North's nuclear program, just as it has resolved the Iranian nuclear problem and restored full diplomatic relations with Cuba, Kim said.

Kim also called for support for unification of the Korean Peninsula, saying it would serve as a growth engine for Northeast Asian countries and contribute to world peace and stability. Unification could come earlier than thought, he said.

He emphasized the importance of the U.S. and the South maintaining strong capabilities to deter North Korea, saying the communist regime can stage armed provocations at any time depending on its domestic situation.

The Korea-U.S. alliance is developing into a "global alliance" that deals with not only bilateral issues, but also global matters, Kim said, adding that he is certain the alliance will become stronger in the future.

Also Monday, Kim held a close-door meeting with Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee. But details of the meeting were not made available.