North Korea ICBM test possible after Security Council meeting, analysts say

Dec. 10 (UPI) -- North Korea could soon be turning toward more dangerous provocations as its demands are not being met by the United States, according to South Korean analysts.

South Korea's unification ministry said Tuesday North Korea has made a total of 17 separate statements addressing the United States or U.S. policy since the breakdown of talks in Sweden in October, South Korean newspaper Segye Ilbo reported.

The statements are also calls for "conversational diplomacy," originating from members of Pyongyang's foreign ministry, according to the report.

Kim Dong-yup, a South Korean analyst at Kyungnam University, told the newspaper a U.S. decision to be less flexible following a planned U.N. Security Council meeting this week could lead to a North Korean transgression, including the test of an intercontinental ballistic missile or other violations of a "red line."

The U.S.-led meeting of the Security Council is to take place on Wednesday, and comes after North Korea claimed it had engaged in a "very important" test of an ICBM engine at its Sohae satellite launch pad.

Following the test, Trump tweeted North Korea's Kim Jong Un has "far too much to lose...if he acts in a hostile way," a reference to a potential North Korea decision to go ahead with a test of a long-range missile capable of reaching the United States.

The United States has continued to monitor the Korean Peninsula for signs of more military movements, News 1 reported Tuesday.

From Monday to Tuesday, the U.S. Air Force deployed the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft at 33,000 feet.

The reconnaissance aircraft has a maximum speed of Mach 0.65 and can fly for nine hours without refueling.

The aircraft previously flew over the peninsula on Oct. 11, Nov. 27 and Dec. 3.

Aircraft Spot, an aviation tracker, published the U.S. aircraft activity online.