As the G20 summit in South Korea enters its second day, British diplomats fear that North Korea is planning to grab the spotlight with military action or even an attack on the summit. The summit is taking place just 50 miles from the border, and diplomats worry that the North may carry out a nuclear test, an incursion into South Korean waters or—at the outer edge of plausibility—an attempt to float balloons filled with biological weapons toward Seoul.
"There is a leadership psychology in North Korea and they are in the midst of a succession," a diplomat tells the Guardian. "That places a determination to show that it is business as usual, or even better than business as usual. They have a defensive, slightly paranoid mindset." Hillary Clinton has urged China's leaders to use their influence with Pyongyang to persuade them not to attempt to disrupt the summit, where President Obama sharply criticized North Korea in a speech yesterday.
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