CIA chief says 'nothing imminent' in US-DPRK standoff

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CIA director Mike Pompeo offered assurances Sunday that there was "nothing imminent" in the US standoff with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) but said he wouldn't be surprised if Pyongyang conducted another missile test.

Pompeo's remarks cap a week in which US President Donald Trump vowed "fire and fury" if the DPRK continued to threaten the US with nuclear weapons and Pyongyang countered by announcing plans to test-launch missiles toward Guam.

When asked how worried people should be, Pompeo told Fox News Sunday: "Nothing imminent."

"There's nothing imminent today. But make no mistake about it ... the increased chance that there will be a nuclear missile in Denver is a very serious threat."

The file photo released by KCNA in April 2016 shows the underwater test-fire of strategic submarine ballistic missile. /Reuters Photo

Pressed on his "nothing imminent" statement, Pompeo said, "What I'm talking about is, I've heard folks talking about that we have been on the cusp of a nuclear war. No intelligence that would indicate we are in that place today."

He said the US intelligence community has "a pretty good idea" about what's going on in the DPRK.

He added that he was confident the DPRK would continue to develop its missile capabilities under its leader Kim Jong Un, "so it wouldn't surprise me if there was another test.

"He conducted two in July so it wouldn't surprise me if there's another missile test," Pompeo said.

Very grave threat

The missile tests last month demonstrated that Pyongyang now has intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the US mainland, experts said.

The Washington Post reported last week that the US Defense Intelligence Agency has concluded that the DPRK has developed a miniaturized nuclear warhead that could be put atop an ICBM.

Pompeo declined to say how long it will be before the DPRK could carry out such a nuclear attack on the US mainland.

"It is probably fair to say that they are moving towards that at an ever alarming rate."

US President Donald Trump and US National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster(L) /AFP Photo

US National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster echoed the tenor of Pompeo's remarks, saying the threat posed by the DPRK is "coming to a head," but adding in an interview on ABC, "we're not closer to war than a week ago."

"Our response is we're prepared militarily to deal with this if necessary. We're taking all possible actions short of military action, to resolve this very grave threat to the United States and the world."

Source(s): AFP