Kim Jong-un 'exceptionally stubborn, not a good listener': CIA

CIA Director John Brennan

By Park Si-soo

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is “exceptionally stubborn and not a very good listener,” the chief of U.S. intelligence agency the CIA says.

CIA Director John Brennan made the remark at an event at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington on Wednesday (local time).

He said the greatest threat of nuclear proliferation comes from North Korea, adding Kim seems mistakenly to believe the international community will not be able to stay united in keeping North Korea from being a nuclear state.

“North Korea remains my top concern in terms of nuclear proliferation, as the country leader Kim Jong-un fails to recognize that the rest of the world won’t accept his pursuit of nuclear weapons,” Brennan said.

Last month, the CIA chief called the North’s nuclear program one of the top “blinking-red” problems that should be highlighted at an intelligence briefing for the next U.S. president.