North Korea intends to finalize the development of its nuclear weapons before the end of next year, Thae Yong-ho (pictured), a former diplomat who fled the country earlier this year claimed in Seoul on Tuesday. He added North’s President Kim Jong-un will not abandon the nuclear program during his presidency under any circumstances.
The former diplomat stated that Kim sees next year as the optimal time to complete the country’s nuclear weapons development due to ongoing political transitions in South Korea and the United States.
“North Korea sees the end of 2017 as the best time on the calculation that the US and South Korea would be unable to take physical, military steps to halt its nuclear development because of their own internal political events,” Thae stated, referring to government transitions in the two countries.
Donald Trump is set to take over from Barack Obama as the U.S. president in January, while South Korea is expected to hold a presidential election once the court confirms the impeachment of the country’s President Park Geun-hye following a corruption scandal.
Thae had served as a diplomat in the North Korean embassy in London. In August, it was revealed he defected to South Korea, after which he was branded "human scum"by Pyongyang.
Image: EPA / YONHAP
