Donald Trump has pledged to “take care” of Kim Jong-un’s ruthless regime but has not yet succeeded.
Lieutenant colonel Ralph Peters said North Korea is “overconfident” and “not afraid” of Donald Trump’s threat of military action.
Appearing on Fox News, Mr Peters said: “What the North Koreans are doing is, instead of just stupid rhetoric, they are trying something strategic.
“By initiating talks with the South Koreans via, perhaps participating in the winter games and then having follow-up talks after that, they are buying time.
“What the North Korean regime needs is to buy time to finish their missile and nuclear development programmes and they are betting that there will be enough sanctions cheating to let them survive until that point.
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“Once they’ve got the nuke capability with the missile to hit us then it’s a different ball game.
“So I look at what’s happening, and the North Korean’s are being very smart. They’re also trying to drive a wedge between us and the South Koreans.”
Donald Trump said that he hopes talks between North and South Korea will continue past the Winter Olympics when they meet for talks next week.
President Trump also told reporters at Camp David that he is open to talk to Kim Jong-un under the right conditions.
Mr Trump said: “I would love to see them take it beyond the Olympics.
“And at the appropriate time, we’ll get involved.”
North and South Korea are set to meet on Tuesday at the village of Panmunjom to talk about the rogue nation’s potential participation in next month’s Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
When Trump was asked whether he was willing to speak he said: “Sure, I always believe in talking.”
He added: “He knows I’m not messing around, not even a little bit.”