CIA warns Kim Jong Un could use nukes as coercive tool

*CIA warns Kim Jong Un could use nukes as 'coercive' tool*

CIA Director Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that the US intelligence community still considers North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to be a "rational actor" but that assessment does not mean he is only developing nuclear weapons as a means to preserve his regime.

"We do believe he would use these toolsets beyond self-preservation," Pompeo said at the American Enterprise Institute, adding that Kim is likely prepared to use both nuclear and conventional military forces for "coercive" purposes with the intent of reunifying the Korean peninsula under his rule. While the CIA has long highlighted North Korea's rapid improvements in the capacity and rate of its intercontinental ballistic missile tests, Pompeo emphasized that Pyongyang's progress should be measured by reliability rather than in timelines.

"Kim Jong Un will not rest with one single successful test" that demonstrates he has the ability to hit a US city with a long-range nuclear weapon, Pompeo said. "His next move would be to develop an arsenal" or the capacity to deliver missiles from multiple firing points simultaneously, he added, noting it is "our mission is to make the day that he can do that as far off as possible."