National Security

McMaster: ‘It’s impossible to overstate the danger’ of North Korea

President Trump’s national security adviser H.R. McMaster delivered a stark warning of the dangers posed by North Korea, saying the rogue regime’s threat to the world cannot be overstated.

“I think it’s impossible to overstate the danger associated with this,” McMaster told MSNBC’s Hugh Hewitt in an interview that aired Saturday.

“I think it’s impossible to overstate the danger associated with a rogue, brutal regime … who murdered his own brother with nerve agent in an airport,” he continued. 

“I mean, think about what he’s done in terms of his own brutal repression of not only members of his regime but his own family,” McMaster added.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s half brother, Kim Jong Nam, was assassinated at Malaysian airport in February – a murder that South Korea’s spy agency believes was ordered by the authoritarian leader.

McMaster’s comments came amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea, particularly over Pyongyang’s continued efforts to advance its weapons and nuclear programs. 

North Korea successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time last month. The rogue regime conducted a second ICBM test later in July.

Analysts say North Korea’s missile could be capable of striking parts of the U.S.

Trump signed a measure this week imposing new sanctions on North Korea as well as targeting Russia and Iran.

The U.S. is also pressing the United Nations Security Council to strengthen sanctions on North Korea in an effort to pressure Pyongyang. The panel was set to vote on the sanctions resolution on Saturday.