A senior North Korean defector says that North Korea aims to complete development of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) by the end of this year or early next year.

North Korea's former Deputy Ambassador to Britain Thae Yong-ho told Yonhap New Agency on Sunday that the North has the goal of developing miniaturized nuclear weapons that can fit atop a missile capable of reaching the United States by the end of 2017 or early 2018, taking advantage of political transitions in South Korea and the United States.

In his New Year’s speech, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un claimed that his country is in the final stages of preparing to test-fire an ICBM.

Thae said that Kim’s speech indicates that the North has already completed the development of intermediate-range missiles (IRBM) with now only the tests of ICBMs left, which leads Seoul and Washington to think about how they will respond.