The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has issued a stark new assessment warning that North Korea is in its “strongest strategic position in decades,” with leader Kim Jong Un displaying growing confidence in his regime’s international legitimacy and security.

In its “2025 Worldwide Threat Assessment” report presented to the House of Representatives’ Armed Services Subcommittee on May 11 and published online this week, the DIA assessed that the DPRK now possesses military capabilities that can “hold at risk U.S. forces and U.S. allies in Northeast Asia” while posing a growing threat to the American homeland.