Not sure if this should be here or the American politics thread in Jet Blast - but, if true, these things can escalate out of control…..

Russia and North Korea may be planning a major military provocation ahead of the US election

A U.S. intelligence official told NBC News that North Korea may resort to the largest military provocation in a decade. He said Pyongyang would likely do so at the behest of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

"We do not doubt that North Korea will behave provocatively this year. The only question is how much the situation will escalate," the U.S. intelligence official said.

"We do not doubt that North Korea will behave provocatively this year"

they do that every year pretty much and the Kim dynasty LOVE to see their name in headlines so , yes, I'm sure they'll do their best but they won't do anything too risky - they 're interest is the preservation of their power, not expansion - whatever they say. They're not going to risk putting all their cash on one spin of the wheel

https://asiatimes.com/2024/05/us-mul...o-deter-china/

US mulls nuke cruise missiles on subs to deter China

Escalatory move would forward-deploy long-range nuke missiles on Virginia-class attack subs to close a deterrence gap with China

Great. :p We are back to the Cold War with a huge difference: the ability to squeeze the Chinese economically as was done to the USSR simply isn't present.