North Korean defector says Kim Jong-un has foul temper and will never give up nuclear weapons

im Jong-un, the North Korean leader, is misleading the world with his talk of denuclearisation, according to one of the highest ranking officials ever to defect from his secretive regime.

In his newly published memoir, Thae Yong-ho, who served as deputy ambassador at the North Korean embassy in London, says Kim is "hot tempered, impulsive and violent" and will never give up his nuclear arsenal

Mr Thae, who fled with his family to South Korea in 2016, describes a number of incidents of Mr Kim’s fierce temper in his new book, The Secret Code of the 3rd Floor Room, released on Monday. Its title is a reference to the office in the headquarters of the Workers’ Party of Korea charged with maintaining the Kim dynasty in power.

During an inspection of a turtle farm in May 2015, Mr Kim noticed that a number of young turtles were dead, the memoirs claim. The dictator reprimanded the manager of the facility and then ordered his execution.

The unfortunate man was taken outside and summarily shot.

In another incident, Mr Kim hurled expletive-laced abuse at officials who were overseeing renovation of the war museum in Pyongyang after it caught fire shortly before it was scheduled to reopen in July 2013.

Mr Thae described the episodes during a reception at the South Korean parliament to the mark the release of his autobiography.

He also expressed his scepticism that the regime he once served will ever surrender its expensively acquired nuclear weapons.

“North Korea’s definition of denuclearisation is different from the complete, verifiable, irreversible dismantlement that we think of,” he said. “The regime may reduce the scale of the nuclear arsenal that it possesses, but its end goal is to be a nuclear state that appears to have denuclearised”.

Mr Thae pointed out that Mr Kim had declared as recently as April 20 that the North’s nuclear capability is a “strong sword and a firm means to guarantee the regime’s security”.

“Why would he declare the definition of the regime’s nuclear weapons in such a way if he was planning to give them up?” Mr Thae said, describing Mr Kim as “omnipotent” and a “god-like” figure in the North who controls every aspect of life.

“They are a sword and shield for eternal prosperity and happiness for generations to come”, he said. “He will never give them up”.

The former diplomat expects Pyongyang to link the elimination of its atomic weapons to Washington withdrawing all its forces from the South, but he expects Mr Kim to use subterfuge to avoid keeping his side of the bargain.