US expert: ``North Korea may engage in 'localized provocations' at a level that does not result in all-out war.''

A U.S. expert said, ``As North Korea's military threat to South Korea intensifies, the U.S.
"South Korea and South Korea must have the ability to jointly take a swift and controlled military response." Skow, who previously served as a North Korean intelligence officer for the U.S. National Intelligence Agency.
Markus Garlauskas, director of the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative at the Croft Center for Strategic Security, said on the 31st (local time) that the
He attended a roundtable jointly sponsored by the Council on Foreign Policy (NCAF) and the Korea Society held in North Korea, and said, ``North Korea is willing to carry out more localized provocations than in the past, as long as they do not provoke an all-out war.''
"I have the ability to do so," he said. In response to the possibility of an armed provocation by North Korea, Garlauskas said, ``The military power of the U.S.-ROK alliance must ensure resilience against a surprise attack by North Korea.''
``This fundamentally contradicts the strong response and the right to first strike that are being talked about in some quarters.''
Garlauskas said, ``We will deal with North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and strike a pre-emptive strike.''
``Even if North Korea wins a local battle through a surprise provocation,'' rather than ``emphasizing that if North Korea dares to carry out an armed provocation, it will bring about the end of the regime,'' the U.S.-South Korea military alliance should moved by this
It is important to have the message and capabilities that say, ``We will not hesitate and ultimately defeat North Korea.''