"Once he sees that there is any kind of sign of a tank or an imminent threat from America, then he would use his nuclear weapons with ICBM" (intercontinental ballistic missiles), Thae said.

"If Kim Jong-un has nuclear weapons and ICBMs, he can do anything. So, I think the world should be ready to deal with this kind of person," he said.

Thae said the North's leader is "desperate in maintaining his rule by relying on his nuclear weapons and ICBM." Kim became obsessed with obtaining nuclear weapons after seeing what happened to Iraq's Saddam Hussein and Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, he said.

"That's why Kim Jong-un strongly believes that only a nuclear weapon can guarantee his rule," Thae said.

The North's leader even killed his own uncle and half-brother, Thae said, adding that the autocratic leader is "a man who can do anything to remove (anyone in) his way."

"Kim Jong-un is a man who can do anything beyond the normal imagination" and that "the final and the real solution to the North Korean nuclear issue is to eliminate Kim Jong-un from the post," Thae said. (Yonhap)