<Anchor>
US military officials say that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is reinforcing a belligerent attitude toward the United States.
At the hearing, the US military Indo-Pacific commander identified North Korea as the most significant security threat facing the United States.
This is correspondent Kim Yun-soo in Washington
<Reporter> At a
US Senate hearing, US Indo-Pacific Commander Davidson first pointed to North Korea as one of the top five security threats to the US.
[Davidson/U.S. Indo-Pacific Commander: The Indo-Pacific region contains four of the five major security threats.
They are China, Russia, North Korea, and violent extremist groups.] He said that
North Korea is developing weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear weapons in addition to its advanced cyber operations capabilities.
Commander Davidson in particular stressed that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is again taking a belligerent stance toward the United States.
He said efforts to develop missiles and nuclear weapons are in line with North Korea's goal of attacking the US mainland, and that ground-based intercept systems should be strengthened and prepared.
[Davidson/U.S. Indo-Pacific Commander: Reinforcing the ground-based intercept system may help North Korea advance its technology and deter any provocations that it could undertake.]
Commander Davidson also stressed that North Korea is continuing to develop weapons by importing illegal coal exports under Chinese acquiescence, and that close cooperation with allies is necessary to stop this.