Will North Korea Start A Provocation Cycle During US-ROK Military Exercises?

Some people are thinking just that:

U.S. defense authorities are said to be concerned about the possibility of North Korean provocations during joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises beginning next month. Following the North’s anti-ship missile drills last week, Washington is not ruling out the possibility that Pyongyang could fire some of its new missiles to raise tension during the annual exercises in the South.
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.

Report: Diplomatic sources in Washington said Monday that U.S. defense authorities are concerned about possible localized provocations by North Korea during South Korean and U.S.’ military exercises next month.

Concerns emerged as North Korea test-fired a new high-precision anti-ship rocket in the East Sea in early February. And weeks later, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un staged a massive military exercise, firing again what it called new and cutting-edge anti-ship missiles.

During the highly publicized drill last week, the North Korean military simulated an attack and landing on South Korean islands in the Yellow Sea.

Experts like Thomas Karako of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) assessed earlier this month that the new battery indeed appears to be a more advanced weapon.  [KBS World]

You can read more at the link, but one of the theories the CSIS is throwing around is that the anti-ship missile could be tested during the exercise in the highly contested western maritime border area.