There’s no “imminent” threat of a nuclear war between the US and North Korea, according to CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who explained that Donald Trump’s threats against Pyongyang describe only a possible response for “certain actions.”
“There’s nothing imminent today, ” Pompeo told Fox News on Sunday.
“But make no mistake about it, the continuation, the increased chance that there will be a nuclear missile in Denver is a very serious threat and the investigation is going to treat it as such.”
“What I’ m talking about is I’ ve heard folks talking about being on the cusp of a nuclear war, ” he added. “No intelligence that would indicate that we’ re in that place today.”
Rather than an escalation to a nuclear war, Pompeo argued that Trump’s heated rhetoric towards Pyongyang was to send a message that its continued pursuit of a nuclear arsenal and ballistic missile technology would not be tolerated.
“The president has made it very clear to the North Korean regime how America will respond if certain actions are taken, ” Pompeo said.
“We are hopeful that the leader of that country will understand them in precisely the way they are intended, to permit him a place to get where we can get the nuclear weapons off the peninsula.”
“It’s that straightforward, ” Pompeo said. “What we need from an intelligence perspective, what is most important is that our communications are clear that the fella who intends to inflict pain on the United States of America understands the US position in an unambiguous way.
