U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper says North Korea could seek to engage in further provocations to strengthen the credibility of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s son and heir apparent Kim Jong-un.

In an annual report submitted to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Thursday, Clapper said the U.S. assesses that North Korea’s artillery strike on Yeonpyeong Island on November 23rd was meant to continue bolstering successor-designate Kim Jong-un’s leadership and military credibility among regime elites.

Clapper also said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il “may feel the need to conduct further provocations” to achieve strategic goals and to portray Jong-un as a strong leader, especially if loyalty and support in the upper ranks are deemed to be in question.

Clapper added that Washington does not know whether the North has produced nuclear weapons, but it assesses that Pyongyang has the capability to do so.