A former U.S. intelligence official has claimed that North Korea will secure the ability to launch a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM) within two years.

According to Radio Free Asia(RFA) on Thursday, former Acting Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) Director John McLaughlin said at a U.S. House Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday that the North will likely develop ICBMs equipped with nuclear warheads within the four-year term of the Trump administration or even earlier.

McLaughlin argued that the North is currently presumed to have 12 to 20 nuclear weapons, but can increase its stockpile to 100 within five years.

Mentioning Secretary of Defense James Mattis’ decision to visit South Korea before any other country since taking office, McLaughlin said the South Korea-U.S. alliance will be firmly maintained under the Trump administration.

Meanwhile, RFA said that House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce plans to hold a hearing on Washington’s North Korea policies next Tuesday. It said North Korea experts, such as Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA analyst, will attend the hearing. 

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