The Deputy Director of Germany’s the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) Ole Diehl warned the German parliament that North Korea has developed nuclear-capable missiles which can reach Central Europe and Germany, the local outlet Bild am Sonntag reported, citing participants. During the closed-door meeting with Bundestag members, the top intelligence official briefed them about the "certainty" that Pyongyang has the capacity to "reach Europe and Germany with its missiles."
The insight was brought up just days after a historic announcement that US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are ready to meet in May. Trump willingly met the North Korean proposal to talk; the DPRK will put on hold all nuclear tests and missile launches during the negotiations. It has raised hopes for “a historic chance” to achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, according to the State Department. The White House said last week that it is working out the details of a meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un.
Before that, in April, Kim Jong-un will be meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in, which is going to be the third such summit ever of the countries' leaders. The agreements were reached after a series of top-level talks among South Korea, the DPRK and the USA at the beginning of March.
However, the US and South Korea will continue to exert maximum pressure on North Korea, Presidents Moon Jae-in and Donald Trump decided during a recent phone call.
Last year, tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalated due to the North's nuclear activity, which led to the toughest ever sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council.
In November, North Korea tested its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile which, according to Pyongyang, is capable of hitting any part of the US mainland. The row grew as Trump called Kim Jong-un a "rocket man" who is on a suicide mission, while Kim responded saying that Trump’s comments exhibited "mentally deranged behavior."
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