North Korea could resume nuclear tests this year to pressure Biden, US intelligence report claims

Kim Jong-un ‘views nuclear weapons as the ultimate deterrent against foreign intervention and believes that over time he will gain international acceptance and respect as a nuclear power,’ report says

North Korea has not tested a long-range missile in more than three years, and has left the door open to talks with the US on denuclearising the Korean peninsula

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Photo: AP

Published: 10:06am, 14 Apr 2021Updated: 10:13am, 14 Apr 2021

North Korea could resume nuclear tests this year as a way to force US President Joe Biden’s administration to enter into dialogue, US intelligence experts said in a report released on Tuesday.

“North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may take a number of aggressive and potentially destabilising actions to reshape the regional security environment and drive wedges between the United States and its allies – up to and including the resumption of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missile testing,” said the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in a report addressing threats the US faces around the world.

“We assess that Kim views nuclear weapons as the ultimate deterrent against foreign intervention and believes that over time he will gain international acceptance and respect as a nuclear power,” the report states.

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North Korea has not tested a long-range missile in more than three years, and has left the door open to talks with the US on denuclearising the Korean peninsula.

But the report said “Kim may be considering whether to resume long-range missile or nuclear testing this year to try to force the United States to deal with him on Pyongyang’s terms”.

The 27-page report also addresses the Iranian nuclear programme, and anticipated Iran’s announcement Tuesday that it will start enriching uranium up to 60 per cent purity. This would bring it a step closer to the 90 per cent threshold needed for uranium to be used in a nuclear weapon.

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“We continue to assess that Iran is not currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons-development activities that we judge would be necessary to produce a nuclear device,” the report said.