Anchor: The nominee to head the U.S. intelligence community named in his confirmation hearing seven threat actors the U.S. faces, which included North Korea and its continued nuclear and missile development.
Choi You Sun has the details.

Report: At his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, John Ratcliffe, the nominee for U.S. Director of National Intelligence(DNI), outlined seven threat actors facing the United States, with China topping the list.

The nominee pointed to the dangers posed by the Chinese Communist Party and its deception surrounding the coronavirus outbreak, adding that the intelligence community's immediate focus should be on the geopolitical and economic impact of the pandemic and its origins.

The congressman for Texas' Fourth District also raised concerns over the race between the U.S. and China in the development of fifth-generation wireless networks, cyber security, Russia's U.S. election-meddling, terrorism and Iran.

The sixth threat actor Ratcliffe mentioned was North Korea and its continued possession of nuclear weapons and delivery system.

In a statement submitted prior to the hearing, Ratcliffe said North Korea continues to view its nuclear program as essential to the protection of its regime, but may be willing to give up some nuclear and missile capabilities in exchange for sanctions relief and other gains.

As for the stalled denuclearization negotiations between the U.S. and the North, the nominee declined to comment on whether he believes there has been progress in reversing Pyongyang's nuclear development.

Meanwhile, U.S.-based analytics website Beyond Parallel suggested that a new facility near Pyongyang International Airport is believed to be built to support the North's expanding ballistic missile program.

The U.S. says it remains open to diplomacy with the North, with Marc Knapper, deputy assistant secretary of state for Korea and Japan telling an online forum that the U.S. is committed to fulfilling the agreement made between the leaders of the two countries in Singapore in 2018.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.