CIA chief says 'nothing imminent' in US-DPRK standoff

CIA director Mike Pompeo offered assurances Sunday that

there was "nothing imminent" in the US standoff withthe Democratic

People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) but said he wouldn't be surprised if

Pyongyang conducted another missile test.

Pompeo's

remarks cap a week in which US President Donald Trump vowed "fire and

fury" if the DPRK continued to threaten the US with nuclear weapons and

Pyongyang countered by announcing plans to test-launch missiles toward

Guam.

When asked how worried people should be, Pompeo told Fox News Sunday: "Nothing imminent."

"There's

nothing imminent today. But make no mistake about it ... the increased

chance that there will be a nuclear missile in Denver is a very serious

threat."

Pressed on his "nothing imminent" statement, Pompeo

said, "What I'm talking about is, I've heard folks talking about that we

have been on the cusp of a nuclear war. No intelligence that would

indicate we are in that place today."

He said the US intelligence community has "a pretty good idea" about what's going on in the DPRK.

He

added that he was confident the DPRK would continue to develop its

missile capabilities under its leader Kim Jong Un, "so it wouldn't

surprise me if there was another test.

"He conducted two in July so it wouldn't surprise me if there's another missile test," Pompeo said.

Very grave threat

The

missile tests last month demonstrated that Pyongyang now has

intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the US

mainland, experts said.

The Washington Post reported

last week that the US Defense Intelligence Agency has concluded that the

DPRK has developed a miniaturized nuclear warhead that could be put

atop an ICBM.

Pompeo declined to say how long it will be before the DPRK could carry out such a nuclear attack on the US mainland.

"It is probably fair to say that they are moving towards that at an ever alarming rate."

US National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster echoed the

tenor of Pompeo's remarks, saying the threat posed by the DPRK is

"coming to a head," but adding in an interview on ABC, "we're not closer

to war than a week ago."

"Our response is we're

prepared militarily to deal with this if necessary. We're taking all

possible actions short of military action, to resolve this very grave

threat to the United States and the world."