Kim Jong Un wants to KEEP his nuclear weapons, Trump's intelligence boss tells senators - contradicting president's 'denuclearization' claim after his summit with North Korean dictator

  • Dan Coats, the Director of National Intelligence, tells the Senate Intelligence Committee, that Kim Jong Un sees nuclear weapons as vital to his regime 
  • He said of North Korea: 'Its leaders ultimately view nuclear weapons as critical to regime survival.'
  • Coats' assessment, which is on behalf of all the U.S. intelligence agencies, directly contradicts Trump who said Kim was on way to full denuclearization 
  • Intelligence chief also disclosed 'observations of some activity that is inconsistent with full denuclearization' 
  • Report also warned Russia and China will try to hack 2020 election by spreading division on social media and that ISIS 'still command thousands of fighters'

North Korea will try to keep its nuclear weapons and is still working on them, Donald Trump's director of national intelligence warned Tuesday - directly contradicting the president's claim about his relationship with Kim Jong Un. 

In an assessment casting doubt on President Donald Trump's goal of a nuclear-disarmed North Korea, U.S. intelligence agencies told Congress that the North is unlikely to entirely dismantle its nuclear arsenal.

The North Korea warning came as the heads of the FBI and the CIA and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats also warned that Russia and China were certain to attempt to hack the 2020 elections; and that ISIS has 'thousands of fighters' who remain loyal to it.

The three were giving evidence to the Senate Intelligence Committee when Coats contradicted his boss, the president, on North Korea's nuclear plans.

Coats said that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has expressed support for ridding the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons and has not recently test-fired a nuclear-capable missile or conducted a nuclear test.

'Having said that, we currently assess that North Korea will seek to retain its WMD (weapons of mass destruction) capabilities and is unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capability because its leaders ultimately view nuclear weapons as critical to regime survival,' Coats said in an opening statement.

'Our assessment is bolstered by our observations of some activity that is inconsistent with full denuclearization,' he added, without details.

This skepticism about North Korea is consistent with the intelligence agencies' views over many years and runs counter to Trump's assertion after his 2018 Singapore summit with Kim that North Korea no longer poses a nuclear threat.

Contradiction: Dan Coats (right), the Director of National Intelligence, told the Senate Intelligence Committee, that Kim Jong Un still wants nuclear weapons so his regime can survive. Coats testified beside (from left) Christopher Wray, the FBI Director, and Gina Haspel, the CIA Director

Contradiction: Dan Coats (right), the Director of National Intelligence, told the Senate Intelligence Committee, that Kim Jong Un still wants nuclear weapons so his regime can survive. Coats testified beside (from left) Christopher Wray, the FBI Director, and Gina Haspel, the CIA Director

Another summit: After this meeting in Singapore in June 2018, Trump said that Kim Jong Un had committed to full denuclearization but was contradicted Tuesday by his own Director of National Intelligence

Another summit: After this meeting in Singapore in June 2018, Trump said that Kim Jong Un had committed to full denuclearization but was contradicted Tuesday by his own Director of National Intelligence

Plans for a follow-up summit are in the works but no agenda, venue or date have been announced.

The report also said that Kim Jong Un is wooing China and South Korea to support its push for Washington to loosen sanctions pressure without making significant nuclear concessions.

'Kim has also sought to align the region against the US-led pressure campaign in order to gain incremental sanctions relief, and North Korean statements have repeatedly indicated that some sanctions relief is necessary for additional diplomacy to occur,' the report said.  

The annual Worldwide Threat Assessment from the Directorate of National Intelligence (DNI), released by Coats, noted that North Korea had not conducted any nuclear or missile tests in over a year and had declared its support for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Pyongyang had also 'reversibly dismantled' parts of its infrastructure for weapons of mass destruction, the report said.  

The DNI report said that in his 2019 New Year´s address, Kim pledged that North Korea would 'go toward' complete denuclearization and promised not to make, test, use, or proliferate nuclear weapons.

However, it said Kim conditioned progress on 'practical actions' by the United States and added that Pyongyang had in the past tied the idea of denuclearization to changes in diplomatic ties, economic sanctions, and military activities.

A landmark first summit between Trump and Kim in Singapore in June produced a promise by Kim to work toward the complete denuclearization of the divided Korean Peninsula. But progress has been scant.

Washington has demanded concrete action, such as a full disclosure of North Korea's nuclear and missile facilities. Pyongyang is seeking a lifting of international sanctions and an official end to the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

Messenger: Kimg Jong Un's regime released this photograph last week of him meeting Kim Yong Chol, who had talked with Trump in Washington D.C. on January 19. The president called the meeting with the North Korean delegate 'incredible'

Messenger: Kimg Jong Un's regime released this photograph last week of him meeting Kim Yong Chol, who had talked with Trump in Washington D.C. on January 19. The president called the meeting with the North Korean delegate 'incredible'

The White House has said Trump will hold a second summit with Kim around the end of February, but economic sanctions will be maintained.

On Jan. 19 Trump said he had had 'an incredible' meeting with North Korea's nuclear envoy Kim Yong Chol in Washington and the two sides had made 'a lot of progress' on denuclearization.

Earlier Tuesday, North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Han Tae Song, said relations with the United States would develop 'wonderfully at a fast pace' if Washington responded to Pyongyang's efforts on denuclearization with trustworthy measures and practical actions.  

More broadly, the intelligence report on which Coats and the heads of other intelligence agencies based their testimony predicted that security threats to the United States and its allies this year will expand and diversify, driven in part by China and Russia. 

It says Moscow and Beijing are more aligned than at any other point since the mid-1950s and their global influence is rising.

The report also said the Islamic State group 'remains a terrorist and insurgent threat' inside Iraq, where the government faces 'an increasingly disenchanted public.'

In Syria, where Trump has ordered a full withdrawal of U.S. troops, the government of Bashar Assad is likely to consolidate control, with Russia and Iran attempting to further entrench themselves in Syria, the report said. 

Asked for her assessment, CIA director Gina Haspel said of ISIS: 'They're still dangerous,' adding that they still command 'thousands of fighters in Iraq and Syria.'

ISIS danger: The intelligence report warns ISIS still commands 'thousands of fighters in Iraq and Syria.' This suicide attack in Manbij, Syria, claimed four American lives, earlier this month
ISIS danger: The intelligence report warns ISIS still commands 'thousands of fighters in Iraq and Syria.' This suicide attack in Manbij, Syria, claimed four American lives, earlier this month

ISIS danger: The intelligence report warns ISIS still commands 'thousands of fighters in Iraq and Syria.' This suicide attack in Manbij, Syria, claimed four American lives, earlier this month

The intelligence assessment of Afghanistan, more than 17 years into a conflict that began after the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., projected a continued military stalemate. 

Without mentioning prospects for a peace deal, which appear to have improved only in recent days, the report said, 'neither the Afghan government nor the Taliban will be able to gain a strategic military advantage in the Afghan war in the coming year' if the U.S. maintains its current levels of support. 

Trump has ordered a partial pullback of U.S. forces this year, although no firm plan is in place.

Coats told the committee that Russia and perhaps other countries are likely to attempt to use social media and other means to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

'We expect our adversaries and strategic competitors to refine their capabilities and add new tactics as they learn from each other's experiences, suggesting the threat landscape could look very different in 2020 and future elections,' the intelligence report said.

The report specifically warned about Russia, which U.S. intelligence agencies determined had interfered in the 2016 election to sway voters toward Trump.

'Russia's social media efforts will continue to focus on aggravating social and racial tensions, undermining trust in authorities, and criticizing perceived anti-Russia politicians,' it said. 

'Moscow may employ additional influence toolkits - such as spreading disinformation, conducting hack-and-leak operations, or manipulating data - in a more targeted fashion to influence U.S. policy, actions, and elections.'

The intelligence assessment, which is provided annually to Congress, made no mention of a crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, which Trump has asserted as the basis for his demand that Congress finance a border wall. 

The report predicted additional U.S.-bound migration from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, with migrants preferring to travel in caravans in hopes of a safer journey.