A state think tank projects additional provocations from North Korea will lead to strong responses from the incoming Donald Trump administration, prompting another nuclear crisis in the region.

The Institute for National Security Strategy(INSS), under the National Intelligence Service(NIS), said in a report on Wednesday that the North is expected to intensify its push to deploy nuclear weapons through a sixth nuclear test and ballistic missile launches in the first half of next year.

The institute said Pyongyang may conduct a nuclear test in January, February or April, when it is celebrates the birthdays of Kim Jong-un and former North Korean leaders Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung, or when Trump officially takes office on January 20th. 

The INSS stated that moves will likely result in strong diplomatic pressure from the Trump administration, raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula and causing a nuclear crisis.

In response, it said the Kim Jong-un regime is expected to make conciliatory gestures to seek talks with the U.S. and South Korea in the second half, but if the moves do not work, it could stage another provocation. 

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