Calling the regime of North Korea's Kim Jong Un a "ruthless, horrendous dictatorship," Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday the execution of Kim's uncle and former mentor still is being deciphered but points to a man who is unstable at best.
"It tells us a lot about, first of all, how ruthless and reckless he is, and it also tells us a lot about how insecure he is, to a certain degree," Kerry said on ABC's "This Week."
The death of Jang Song Thaek, who was believed to have been the second-most powerful man in the country, is one of several executions Kim has carried out in the recent months, Kerry said.
"North Korea remains relatively opaque, but we do have insights," he said.
Because of the instability and danger Kim poses to the world, the United States, working with China, Japan, Russia and South Korea, must ensure the future of peninsula is one without nuclear weapons.
"To have a nuclear weapon potentially in the hands of somebody like Kim Jong Un just becomes even more unacceptable," Kerry said.
Addressing "incorrect" accusations that the United States has abandoned former FBI agent Bob Levinson, who went missing in Iran in 2006, Kerry said he personally has raised the issue of the hostage's whereabouts.
"We don't have any meetings with anybody who has something to do with Iran or an approach to Iran where we don’t talk to them about how we might be able to find not just Mr. Levinson, but we have two other Americans that were deeply concerned about," Kerry said. "I think the Iranian government has the ability to help us here, and we hope they will."
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