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A potential crisis involving DPRKranked atop the list of international concerns for the United States in the New Year, according to a Council on Foreign Relations survey.
The annual Preventive Priorities Survey put "a severe crisis in DPRK" in the Tier 1 category of concerns, along with a potential military confrontation between Russia and NATO; a highly disruptive cyberattack on U.S. critical infrastructure; and a mass casualty terrorist attack on the U.S. homeland.
The CFR said in the report that a severe crisis in the North could be "caused by nuclear or intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) weapons testing, a military provocation, or internal political instability.
The think tank said that it sent the survey to nearly 7,000 U.S. government officials, foreign policy experts, and academics, of whom more than 500 responded. Each was asked to estimate the likelihood and impact on U.S. interests of each of the contingencies, it said.
It was believed to be the first time that a DPRKcrisis has topped the annual list of international concerns for New Year, though the issue has been classified as a Tier 1 international concern in previous surveys.
"Donald J. Trump assumes office at a particularly turbulent time. It may not be long before his administration is tested by a serious foreign crisis," CFR said in the report. "The new administration must decide how active it wants to be in managing the risks a more turbulent world poses to U.S. interests."
Most American experts agree that DPRKwill be one of the biggest problems facing the Trump administration as the communist nation stepped up its development of a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the continental U.S.
Outgoing President Barack Obama also reportedly warned Trump of the dangers the North poses to the U.S. when the two met at the White House last month.
During the election campaign, Trump said he would pressure China to exercise its influence over DPRKas the main food and energy provider to rein in the regime in Pyongyang, saying the North is basically China's problem to fix.
But he also expressed a willingness to hold direct talks with DPRKleader Kim Jong-un over "hamburgers," a remark seen as aimed at underscoring the point he's a great negotiator. However, the remark invited huge criticism that such a meeting would only bolster the North's dictator.
(YONHAP)
