Commander of U.S. Forces Korea General Walter Sharp says he does not see North Korean leader Kim Jong-il giving up his nuclear capability.

Sharp issued the outlook at the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, saying he thinks the reclusive North Korean leader believes he has to have nuclear capability for “regime survival." With its nuclear weapons, Sharp said that the North not only uses it as a deterrent, but a leverage to gain aid and attention.

He also expressed serious concerns over Pyongyang's ballistic missile programs, saying that if left unchecked, North Korea will likely develop within five years an intercontinental ballistic missile which could reach U.S. territory.

The Commander added that Seoul and Washington are devising measures to incapacitate any cyber attacks by the North, citing that the communist state has recently boosted its cyber attack capability, including sending jamming signals that disrupt the reception of the Global Positioning System of other countries.

Sharp, who will retire this year, warned that although the North is requesting food aid, it could engage in further provocative acts, given its past behavior.