Former North Korean official Hwang Jang-yop says the North will not use nuclear weapons.

The North's former chief ideologue, who defected to the South in 1997, said that Pyongyang's nukes aren't aimed at waging war, but at providing enough of a threat to fan fears of war and bring about a leftist government in Seoul.

Speaking Monday at a meeting of the ROTC New Right Association, a reserve officers' group, Hwang said that Seoul could have used more effectively the money it spent under the so-called "Sunshine Policy" of engaging Pyongyang. For instance, he said, if the South had used the money to save North Korean defectors, it would have been recognized for human rights protection and thus could have played a role in bringing down the Kim Jong-il government.

He said that the next South Korean leader must defend democracy and abide by the rules. He said that those who liken the power transfer to the opposition Grand National Party to a nuclear war are just trying to intimidate the public. But he did not elaborate further, citing a lack of interest in politics ahead of the December presidential election.