ADMIRAL: The North Korea crisis is the worst I've ever seen

Thomson Reuters

WASHINGTON (AP) — The senior U.S. Navy officer overseeing military operations in the Pacific says the crisis with North Korea is at the worst point he's ever seen. But he declined to compare the situation to the Cuban Missile Crisis decades ago.

Adm. Harry Harris Jr. is commander of U.S. Pacific Command. He tells a Senate committee, "It's real."

Harris says he has no doubt North Korea intends to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of striking the United States.

The admiral says there's uncertainty within U.S. intelligence agencies over how far along North Korea's nuclear and missile programs are. But Harris says it's not a matter of if, but when.

Harris also says he doubts the North Korean people will rise up to topple North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

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