North Korea has gotten dangerously close to developing nuclear weapons that could reach the United States, according to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
Lee made the comments on Thursday and indicated that the North Korean regime only has to work out the final step to become a nuclear power that could threaten US national security, according to NBC News.
North Korea has been ramping up its missile testing since talks between President Donald Trump and leader Kim Jong Un collapsed in 2019 amid disagreements over U.S.-led sanctions on the isolated state. Trump has said repeatedly since returning to office that he would like to resume diplomacy with Kim.
Speaking in New York on Thursday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said North Korea appears to already have enough nuclear weapons for “regime survival,” and that it continues to produce nuclear material and develop ICBMs capable of delivering nuclear warheads to the continental U.S.
“It seems not to have succeeded yet, but only one final step remains — so-called atmospheric re-entry technology,” Lee said at an investment summit at the New York Stock Exchange. “That, too, is likely to be solved soon.”
If the status quo is allowed to continue, North Korea will add roughly 15 to 20 nuclear warheads each year, Lee said, and its ICBM technology will advance to the point where it has more warheads than it needs to defend itself.
“What then of the excess? The concern is that they will export them,” he said.
Lee called for a phased plan to curb Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions, noting that “denuclearization is not going to be achieved in the near future.”
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The South Korean president is pushing for a plan that would involve a freeze, reduction, and eventual dismantling of North Korea’s arsenal. He pointed out that President Donald Trump “is uniquely positioned to be that counterpart.”
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un recalled “good peresonal memories” of his meetings with Trump during his first term. However, he rejected the idea of engaging in future talks until the US “Abandons its delusional obsession with denuclearization.”
The meetings resulted in a short-term easing of tensions between Washington and Pyongyang. But there has not been any progress made since then.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called an “urgent” meeting of more than 800 top US military leaders at a Marine Corps base in Virginia that is set to take place on Tuesday. The Defense Department has not publicly stated the reason for the meeting.
This development comes just after Hegseth ordered the firing of about 100 generals and admirals.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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