High-profile senior North Korean defector Thae Yong-ho told NBC’s Nightly News Sunday just how “desperate” Kim Jong-un has become to retain his power in his secretive imperious regime.
Yong-ho maintains the N. Korean dictator is highly unstable and is relying on the development of nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) to establish N. Korea as a nuclear power.
“Once he sees that there is any kind of sign of a tank or an imminent threat from America, then he would use his nuclear weapons with ICBM,” the defector said.
Yong-ho, who served as N. Korea’s Deputy Ambassador to the United Kingdom before his defection, told NBC’s Lester Holt he hopes his defection will encourage future defections from Jong-Un’s regime, and his work will “encourage the world to do something for North Korean people.”
Later this week President Trump is set to put China on notice over N. Korea’s nuclear development plan, but analysts say China plays a big role in helping to impose sanctions on N. Korea and will be instrumental in the diplomatic process.
Although President Trump feels he can impose sanctions against N. Korea with or without the Chinese, it would obviously be nice to have the added leverage.
Former Defense Secretary Ash Carter told ABC Sunday he thinks it would be “worthwhile to put pressure on China to play this role it’s unwilling to play.”
Carter said the superpower may respond because China ultimately fears the short-run “collapse of North Korea.”
And if that doesn’t work, a preemptive U.S. nuclear strike on N. Korea may be in the cards. However, war-gamers fear such a strike may be met with N. Korea’s invasion of South Korea.
“If it comes to the necessity to protect ourselves, we’ve always had all options on the table. I wouldn’t take any off,” Carter said.
Source: North Korean Defector Tells Lester Holt ‘World Should be Ready’ — NBC News
Shepard Ambellas is an opinion journalist and the founder and editor-in-chief of Intellihub News & Politics (Intellihub.com). Shepard is also known for producing Shade: The Motion Picture (2013) and appearing on Travel Channel’s America Declassified (2013). Shepard is a regular contributor to Infowars. Read more from Shep’s World. Get the Podcast. Follow Shep on Facebook and Twitter.
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