North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un appears more "risk-tolerant, arrogant and impulsive" than his father as he forges ahead with military programs that have left even China - Pyongyang's top ally - feeling frustrated, a top U.S. general said on Tuesday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) smiles as he watches the test of a
new type of anti-air guided weapon system in this undated photo released
by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 2, 2016.
REUTERS/KCNA
WASHINGTON: North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un appears more
"risk-tolerant, arrogant and impulsive" than his father as he forges
ahead with military programs that have left even China: Pyongyang's top
ally: feeling frustrated, a top U.S. general said on Tuesday.
Army General Vincent Brooks, who is President Barack Obama's
nominee to lead American forces in South Korea, told a Senate hearing
that he was "not optimistic" about North Korea's direction.
The reclusive state conducted a fourth nuclear test in
January and a long-range rocket launch in February, both in
contravention of U.N. Security Council resolutions. Last week, it failed
to launch what the United States believes was an intermediate-range
ballistic missile.
"Compared to his father, Kim Jong Un is more aggressive with
advancing the North’s nuclear programme and ignoring international
concerns," Brooks said in written responses to questions from the Senate
Armed Services Committee.
He noted Kim's purges and executions of senior officials
since he succeeded his father, Kim Jong Il, who died in 2011, adding:
"We now see greater potential for instability as a result of Kim Jong
Un's behaviours and the absence of advisers he is willing to consult."
Some experts expect North Korea to conduct its fifth nuclear
test in the near future, possibly before its party congress in early
May.
Brooks said at his Senate confirmation hearing that some
Chinese military leaders have told him "they don't have the influence
they once had" with Pyongyang, although he questioned that.
"It is my assessment that China is in fact frustrated, yet
unwilling to apply pressures that could threaten the viability of the
North Korea" regime, he said in written responses to the committee.
In March, North Korea said it had miniaturised a nuclear
warhead to be mounted on ballistic missiles and a simulated re-entry
test of a ballistic missile, which could indicate advances in its ICBM
programme, if true.
But South Korean officials questioned those assertions and said the North was several years away from developing an ICBM.
Brooks restated the U.S. military's position that it must be prepared defensively by assuming the worst.
"Given the amount of time and resources the regime devotes
to nuclear and missile programs, we must assume North Korea has the
technical capability to mount and deliver a nuclear warhead using
ballistic missiles," he said.
Brooks added that South Korea was carrying a "significant
load" when it comes to U.S. forces in South Korea. He said that South
Korea was paying for 92 percent of a US$10.8 billion U.S. Defence
Department construction project.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; editing by Andrew Hay)
- Reuters
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