Director James Clapper of the U.S. National Intelligence admitted that the U.S government will most likely not be able to stop North Korea from using nuclear weapons. According to the official, the only likely solution for now is to impose a limit on the country’s nuclear capabilities.
Clapper made the statement during an appearance at an event for the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He noted that even though President Barack Obama’s administration has maintained a stern stance towards denuclearizing North Korea, the continuous nuclear weapons tests carried out by state capital Pyongyang clearly indicates that Kim Jong-un’s party will not yield.
“I think the notion of getting the North Koreans to denuclearize is probably a lost cause,” Clapper said according to the New York Post. “They are not going to do that – that is their ticket to survival.”
Clapper explained that as shown through North Korea’s various missile launch tests and military drills throughout the recent years, the country is driven by a unique viewpoint of the world. From their perspective, the country’s officials believe that they are constantly being threatened by other states. For them, maintaining nuclear weapons is a way to ensure the survival of their country.
As a solution, Clapper proposed imposing a cap on North Korea in an effort to limit the number of nuclear weapons the country would be able to keep. However, he also believes this proposal will be hard to implement.
“The best way we could probably hope for is some sort of cap, but they are not going to do that just because we ask them,” the director said. “There’s going to have to be some significant inducements.”
John Kirby of the U.S. State Department, on the other hand, maintained that the White House is still determined to strip North Korea of its nuclear capabilities. The official, however, did not go into detail as to how the Obama administration’s plans to carry this out.
