Anchor: The U.S. intelligence chief says North Korea is unlikely to give up its nuclear weapons program. 
Our Kim Bum-soo has more on U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats's assessment at a Senate panel hearing on Tuesday.

Report: The head of U.S. intelligence says it is unlikely North Korea will give up its nuclear weapons.

[Sound bite: Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats]
"We currently assess that North Korea will seek to retain its WMD capabilities and is unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capabilities."    

Director of National Intelligence(DNI) Daniel Coats revealed his assessment on Tuesday during a Senate panel hearing, where the heads of the FBI, CIA, and other authorities testified on their latest knowledge.

[Sound bite: Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats]
"... its leaders ultimately view nuclear weapons as critical to regime survival. Our assessment is bolstered by our observations of some activity that is inconsistent with full denuclearization."    

His remarks come in the run-up to a planned second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, slated for the end of February.  

In the DNI's annual Worldwide Threat Assessment released Tuesday, Coats cautioned that although North Korea had dismantled parts of its nuclear weapons facilities, Kim's denuclearization pledges are conditioned on "practical actions" by the U.S.

[Sound bite: Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats] 
"While we assess that sanctions on exports have been effective and largely maintained, North Korea seeks to mitigate the effects of the U.S.-led pressure campaign through diplomatic engagement, counter-pressure against the sanctions regime and direct sanctions evasion." 

Pyongyang's Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Han Tae-song, told a UN-sponsored disarmament conference Tuesday that North Korea-U.S. relations would improve "wonderfully at a fast pace" if Washington moves correspondingly with his country's denuclearization efforts. 
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.