The preceding South Korean and U.S. administrations differed on a set of issues, including their assessment of North Korea’s intentions behind its nuclear program and their characterization of its missile provocation, according to a former U.S. official’s memoir published Tuesday.

In the book, titled, “At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House,” H.R. McMaster, who served as national security advisor from 2017-2018, revealed a series of anecdotes where the administrations of former Presidents Moon Jae-in and Donald Trump diverged on North Korea and other issues.

McMaster touched on what happened during Moon’s visit to Washington for a summit with Trump in June 2017, noting that staying aligned with the Moon government would require a “sustained” effort.

Following the summit press conference, Moon and then Vice President Mike Pence met each other and disagreed on why Pyongyang has been doggedly pursuing nuclear arms.

“Moon said that, just like Saddam Hussein and Muammar Khadafi, Kim b
elieved that he needed nuclear weapons for defense,” McMaster wrote.

“Pence asked Moon, ‘Why does Kim Jong-un need nukes when he has conventional artillery in range of Seoul? We have to consider the possibility that Kim wants the weapons for offensive purposes,'” he added.

Source: Yonhap News Agency