DOD releases North Korea report

The Pentagon this morning released an unclassified version of a congressionally mandated report on North Korean military and security developments.

The report assesses "the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, the goals and factors shaping North Korean security strategy and military strategy, trends in North Korean security, an assessment of North Korea's regional security objectives, including an assessment of the North Korean military's capabilities, developments in North Korean military doctrine and training, an assessment of North Korea's proliferation activities, and other military security developments" as of Dec. 15, 2017.

The report, "generated" on Feb. 13, was issued the same day President Trump canceled a peace summit with his North Korean counterpart that had been scheduled for June 12 in Singapore.

According to the Pentagon, North Korea views its nuclear weapons program as central to the survival of the Kim regime.

"North Korea's primary strategic goal is perpetual Kim family rule via the simultaneous development of its economy and nuclear weapons program," the report states. "Pyongyang portrays nuclear weapons as its most effective way to deter the threat from the United States."

Read the full report.