Russian East Asian Expert Indicates that Russia's Air Defence Systems Cover North Korea to Deter American Attacks; Could Moscow's Actions Avert War on the Korean Peninsula?

In an interview on August 12th 2017 Evgeny Kim, senior fellow at the Centre for Korean Studies of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, indicated that Russia would use its air defence coverage over the airspace of neighbouring North Korea to prevent U.S. air and missile strikes against the country. He was certain that should a conflict break out it would be the United States that initiated it, stating: "North Korea's missiles won't fly in the direction of Guam. Most likely if something happens, U.S. missiles will be fired. Of course, our (Russian) air defence systems could intercept them, but it is necessary to conduct a policy which would prevent such a course of events." This gives a highly plausible explanation for the build up of Russian air defence systems in the country's Far East near the North Korean border coinciding with an escalating U.S. threats to carry out preventative strikes against North Korean targets. With more B-1B Lancer bombers deployed to Guam within range of North Korea and plans for military strikes being supported by several members of the U.S. military and government as a necessary measure to prevent North Korea's development of a nuclear deterrent, there appears an imminent threat of an American attack. The purpose of Russia's military deployments is to prevent the United States from using its most essential assets, its air and missile forces, against North Korea. Such a step taken by Russia could well be key to preventing such actions as the importance controlling the skies over North Korea to American military doctrine cannot be overstated An inability to do so would make waging war in Korea, already an extremely difficult prospect, impossible for the United States. Russia's denial of access to North Korean airspace to U.S. forces could therefore well be the deciding factor in whether war in the Korean Peninsula breaks out - and is highly likely to deter American military action. While not a member of the military or government, Kim's profession and position guarantees familiarity with Russian interests in their Far Eastern regions, one of which is continued stability on the Korean Peninsula, and measures the country could take to protect them.

Original interview with Professor Evgeny Kim conducted with Russia's state owned Sputnik news service.