North Korea’s Kim Jong-un determined to develop nuclear capability by 2017, defector says

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attending the night assault combat flight drill of fighter pilots in North Korea. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:00pm, 27 Dec 2016Updated: 10:19pm, 28 Dec 2016

A high-profile North Korean defector said on Tuesday that top leader Kim Jong-un is determined to develop a nuclear weapons capability by next year and would not be dissuaded by economic incentives, South Korean media reported.

Kim is “racing ahead with nuclear development after setting up a plan to develop it at all costs by the end of 2017,” Thae Yong-ho told a group of South Korean journalists who cover their country’s Unification Ministry, according to Yonhap News Agency.

North Korea calculates that South Korea and the US will not be able to take physical or military actions to deter North Korea’s nuclear development

Thae Yong-ho

Thae, 55, who was the No. 2 at the North Korean Embassy in London when he defected with his wife and two sons in July, was appearing before the media for the first time since then.

Kim “would never abandon nuclear weapons even with US$1 trillion or US$10 trillion”, he said, adding, “It’s not a matter of incentives.”

Thae suggested that for North Korea, next year is “an opportune time” to push nuclear weapons development, considering that South Korea and the United States will have new presidents.

“Due to domestic political procedures, North Korea calculates that South Korea and the US will not be able to take physical or military actions to deter North Korea’s nuclear development,” he said.

In the meantime, he said, North Korea will try to open dialogue with the new administrations in Seoul and Washington with a view to getting them to recognise it as a nuclear state.

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