WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Thursday urged North Korea to end its brazen nuclear threats against the U.S. and its allies, warning the unpredictable communist regime that his administration would “take all necessary steps” to protect American citizens. Obama’s stern comments came as new U.S. intelligence was made public showing North Korea probably has advanced its nuclear knowhow to the point that it could arm a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead, though the weapon wouldn’t be very reliable. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has rattled much of Asia with threats to launch a nuclear strike. The Northon Thursday delivered a fresh round of war rhetoric with claims it has “powerful striking means” on standby, the latest in a torrent of warlike threats seen by outsiders as an effort to scare and pressure South Korea and the U.S. into changing their North Korea policies. Obama, in his first public comments since North Korea escalated its rhetoric, said it was time for the isolated nation “to end the belligerent approach they have taken and to try to lower temperatures.” “Nobody wants to see a conflict on the Korean Peninsula,” Obama added, speaking from the Oval Office alongside United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Top U.S. intelligence officials said Thursday they believe Kim is using the threats to win concessions on foreign aid rather than trying to start a war. Obama said he preferred to see the tensions on the peninsula resolved through diplomatic means, but added that, “the United States will take all necessary steps to protect its people.” Secretary of State John Kerry was headed Thursday to East Asia, where he planned talks with officials in Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo about North Korea. The latest U.S. intelligence assessment on North Korea was revealed Thursday at a public hearing on Capitol Hill. Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., read from what he said was an unclassified segment of a classified Defense Intelligence Agency report on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, which long has been shrouded in secrecy. The DIA conclusion![]()
