Former President Kim Dae-jung says North Korea will not go forward with a nuclear test.

In a Wednesday interview with the Asahi Shimbun during his trip to Japan, the Nobel laureate said it would be impossible for the North to actually carry out such experiments before the entire world.

Kim suggested that Pyongyang's nuclear threats are aimed at pressing Washington to accept North Korean demands for concessions, adding that such tactics would produce no result.

He said North Korea's use of nuclear weapons would only lead to a U.S. counterattack that would reduce the country to ashes. He further stressed that Pyongyang's threats would not result in strengthening its alleged status as a nuclear power.

Kim also warned that if Pyongyang continues to develop nuclear arms despite U.S. incentives, the possibility of sanctions would have to be discussed. But he was quick to add that not all parties to the six-way talks would agree to immediately resort to sanctions without first offering incentives to the Stalinist regime.