North Korea’s Nuclear Alert 'Not Surprising, Mostly Talk'

The news of North Korea readying its nuclear weapons for use at any time is not unexpected, but the country remains opaque to US analysts, National Intelligence Council chairman Gregory Treverton said at the Center for Strategic International Studies on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On Thursday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the military to prepare to use its nuclear weapons at any moment, according to reports from the country’s state media.

“This latest bout is probably not as surprising as it may seem. We have seen it before. Exactly what is happening is not clear, so far it is mostly talk as far as we can tell,” Treverton said of North Korea’s nuclear weapons alert.

He added that North Korea is a “real puzzle,” describing it as a “state that is essentially failed in every respect, but still has nuclear weapons.”

“They brandish them [nuclear weapons] from time to time. It’s the only thing that gives them stature, and they, I think, reckon it as the only thing that deters regime change in North Korea,” Treverton explained.

Pyongyang’s nuclear high alert followed less than 24 hours after the UN Security Council unanimously agreed to impose a tough new sanctions regime against the country for a recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launches. North Korea retaliated on Thursday with salvos of short-range missiles which it fired into the East Sea (Sea of Japan).