U.S. Secretary of Defense (War Department) Pete Hegseth [Washington AP=Yonhap News]

U.S. Secretary of Defense (War Department) Pete Hegseth said on the 29th (local time) that Iran's ambition for nuclear weapons is "this is North Korea's strategy."

Hegseth testified before a hearing of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee that day, and in response to a question from Democratic committee chairman Adam Smith (Washington), he replied, "Iran's nuclear ambitions are ongoing."

Smith's question was to point out the inconsistency in President Donald Trump's claim that Iran's nuclear weapons were an "imminent threat" when initiating the war in Iran on February 28 of this year, while also claiming that Iran's nuclear facilities were completely destroyed by a strike ordered by President Trump in June of the previous year.

In response, Hegseth stated, "The nuclear facilities were bombed and completely destroyed. They are buried underground," adding, "But their ambitions (for nuclear weapons) have continued, and they are building conventional defense networks."

He continued, "This is North Korea's strategy. You know it well," and explained, "The North Korean strategy was to use conventional missiles to prevent anyone from challenging them, thereby slowly advancing (towards nuclear weapons) (while buying time)."

He emphasized that a large-scale military attack on Iran was necessary because North Korea had secretly developed nuclear weapons over a long period by blocking external attacks with conventional weapon development, and Iran was employing a similar strategy.

Hegseth said, "President Trump seized Iran's most vulnerable moment and took an action that only the United States, along with Israel, could take."