SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea is in the last stage of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile that could hit the United States with a nuclear weapon, though it has yet to master re-entry technology, South Korea’s president said on Thursday.
President Lee Jae Myung, who is visiting New York for the United Nations General Assembly, hosted an investor relations session on Thursday at the New York Stock Exchange. He pledged to reduce security risks linked to North Korea in order to draw more investments and spur the economy.
“Whether for negotiations with the U.S. or for their own regime, they are continuing to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States, carrying a nuclear bomb and bombing the United States,” Lee said.
“It appears they haven’t achieved success yet, but they are in the final stage, only with the so-called atmospheric re-entry technology left. That, too, is likely to be resolved soon,” the South Korean leader said.
Last year North Korea launched its largest intercontinental ballistic missile yet, the Hwasong-19, which flew deep into space. Experts have said such missiles are capable of hitting any target in the United States, although North Korea’s ability to guide the missile and protect a warhead as it re-enters the atmosphere is still in doubt.
Lee reiterated U.S. President Donald Trump would be the “only” person that can be a negotiating counterpart for North Korea. Trump said in August he wanted to meet North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, possibly as soon as this year.
The South Korean leader who took office in June has been seeking to improve strained relations with Pyongyang and has proposed dialogue between the two Koreas, but North Korea has rejected such calls.
Lee added that North Korea had apparently secured enough nuclear weapons to sustain its rulers, calling for negotiations to stop it from producing more nuclear arms which could be sold abroad.
“Let’s reduce nuclear weapons in the mid term. Let’s pursue denuclearization in the long term,” he said.
North Korean leader Kim has said there was no reason to avoid talks with the U.S. if Washington stopped insisting his country give up nuclear weapons.
(Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Peter Graff)
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