He will escalate intermediate-range ballistic missile launches prior to that. I suspect a series of SRBM IRBM into the Sea of Japan, maybe even over Japan territory.
Agreed.
I see that Communist Russia and China are now in the process of providing the DPRK with advanced fighter jets and other sort met of other weaponry I suspect that the Norks have the Russian S-300/S-400 missile defence systems along with wide range of underground hypersonic missiles too.