"North Korea Want To Be Left Alone And Will Only Act If Trump Provokes Them"

9 August 2017, 07:58 | Updated: 9 August 2017, 15:31

An expert on North Korea security told LBC that the rogue nation will NOT start a nuclear war with the US - unless they are provoked into doing so.

Andrea Berger, who has previously participated in security negotiations with North Korea, said the country wants a nuclear arsenal to keep others out in order to be left alone.

And the only way they will take action is if Donald Trump provokes them into it.

Her comments come after the President of the US promised "fire and fury like the world has never seen before".

Ms Berger said: "I don't think we have a much higher chance of being involved in a military conflict than we did in the last year or two.

"Indeed you know if you agree with me that the North Koreans are pursuing a nuclear capability to keep others away rather than to conduct an offensive attack out of the blue, then unless we provoke the North Koreans and do so in a way that allows for serious miscalculation then we're unlikely to be entering a conflict anytime soon."

Matt Frei discussed North Korea's nuclear abilities
Matt Frei discussed North Korea's nuclear abilities. Picture: LBC / Sky News

Matt then asked her if that meant Donald Trump was more of a dnager to the world than Kim Jong Un. Ms Berger responded: "it's the two in combination.

"But certainly I think that unless we seriously provoke the North Koreans into believing that we're coming after their leadership or indeed the survival of things as they know it then we shouldn't expect that the North Koreans are going to conduct a major provocation without any sort of prompting."