The head of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency(DIA) says the U.S. intelligence community does not believe North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is ready to denuclearize.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that DIA Director Robert Ashley made the remarks during an interview with Fox News the previous day.

The U.S. intelligence community has long been skeptical of Kim's commitment to the North's denuclearization.

In January, Ashley said during a Congressional committee meeting that threats from North Korea and its nuclear capabilities remain unchanged.

Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats told the same committee that it is unlikely that Kim will give up his nuclear weapons because they are seen as critical to regime survival.

Coats' predecessor, James Clapper, said in 2016 that it's "probably a lost cause" trying to convince the North Koreans to abandon their nuclear weapons program, as it's "their ticket to survival."

[Photo : YONHAP News]