A North Korea expert in the United States forecast the regime along with China and Russia would reinforce a trilateral military cooperation against a three-way security cooperation between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan.

At a seminar on Tuesday, Alexandre Mansourov, adjunct professor at Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies, said it would be difficult to eliminate a trilateral summit between the leaders of the North, China and Russia should Washington's ties with Beijing and Moscow further worsen.

Amid projections for a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin this year, Mansourov said the two sides could expand exchanges in military education and training and share experiences from past conflicts.

The expert suggested a possible visit to the North this week by a high-level Russian official, such as Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, marking the 75th anniversary of state foundation.

Sydney Seiler, former senior official on the North at the National Intelligence Council(NIC) under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence(DNI), said a three-way meeting involving Kim, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping would be worth consideration.

He, however, added that Beijing and Moscow would have to consider long-term effects, such as being dragged into the tension escalation on the Korean Peninsula or their reputation being tarnished due to increased cooperation with Pyongyang.