YEREVAN. – U.S. military attack on Syria may repeat, but in the form of missile attacks that have clear political, not military goals, political analyst and Director of the Regional Studies Center (RSC), Richard Giragosian told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Asked what steps can be expected from Washington in case of North Korea, Giragosian recalled that over the past year, North Korea has emerged as a seriously more significant threat, with an unprecedented pace of missile and nuclear testing.

“And under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, North Korea has conducted 35 missile launches and five nuclear tests in the past ten years.  The recent failure of the sixth nuclear test this weekend, however, demonstrates the weakness of the North Korean program.  That weakness, combined with the recent and rare show of Chinese pressure and U.S. warnings, may force North Korea to back down from its threats,” the expert said.

Giragosian said North Korea is very different than Syria, mainly because of two factors. 

“First, the U.S. has a clear and consistent security guarantee for South Korea, and must defend it at all costs.  Second, South Korea is very vulnerable to any attack from North Korea.  And unlike Syria, Washington seems to have more options, including working with China, against North Korea.  In Syria, however, the situation is more difficult.  But what we can expect is a new deal with Turkey, including more cooperation on the military ground in northern Syria, and second, a renewed military attack by the United States, but with missile strikes that are designed more for political than military purposes.  Nevertheless, under this scenario, the likely confrontation with Russia will only increase.”