Kim Jong-Un aims to complete nuclear weapons development next year, a former North Korean official revealed Tuesday.
North Korea is “racing ahead with nuclear development after setting up a plan to develop it (nuclear weapons) at all costs by the end of 2017,” Thae Yong-ho, formerly a diplomat at the North Korean Embassy in London, said at a press conference, reports Yonhap News Agency.
“As long as Kim Jong-un is (in power), North Korea will never give up its nuclear weapons … the North will not give them up even if the country is offered $1 trillion or $10 trillion in return,” Thae explained. “It’s not a matter of (economic) incentives.”
North Korea conducted its fifth and largest nuclear test Sept. 9.
North Korea aspires to be recognized as a normal, nuclear state.
The coming year is perceived as an excellent opportunity for the North, as the U.S. and South Korea will welcome new presidential leadership and, possibly, new policies.
“Due to domestic political procedures, North Korea calculates that South Korea and the U.S. will not be able to take physical or military actions to deter North Korea’s nuclear development,” Thae commented.
Pyongyang may also attempt to engage the U.S. and South Korea to obtain the legitimacy and recognition it desires.
Thae expects provocations to become the norm.
“North Korea believes that relentless provocations must shift new (South Korean and U.S.) governments’ policy lines into more stability-focused ones,” he said.
Kim Jong-un is making nuclear weapons development a top priority, calling for completion “within the earliest time possible.”
Thae abandoned his position and fled the North after experiencing disillusionment with Kim Jong-un’s “tyrannical reign of terror.” He defected to South Korea with his wife and two sons this past summer.
North Korea refers to Thae as “human scum.”
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