Future top US diplomat Rubio: Kim is a dictator. Cuba supports terrorism

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is a "dictator", said the future head of US diplomacy Marco Rubio, apparently distancing himself from the positions of the newly elected US President Donald Trump, reported Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.

However, Rubio added that the US will make every effort to avoid a crisis with North Korea (DPRK).

"We have a dictator of nearly 40 years who must find a way to maintain power for the rest of his life," Rubio said at a hearing before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, before the vote on his nomination in Congress. "He sees nuclear weapons as his insurance to stay in power and that is so important to him that no amount of sanctions will dissuade him from developing that (nuclear) capability", Rubio added.

"What can we do to avoid a crisis without inciting other countries to try to create their own nuclear weapons program. That is the solution we have to find", stressed the politician nominated by Trump for US Secretary of State.

Trump and Kim have met three times without much progress being made towards the denuclearization of North Korea, AFP notes. However, Rubio stressed that he was able to achieve an end to North Korean missile tests, which has "calmed the situation".

In addition, Rubio said that Cuba's place is on the list of states that support terrorism. This suggests that he will reverse President Joe Biden's decision to remove Havana from this list, which limits investment opportunities in the US neighbor.

However, Rubio did not explicitly say whether he would actually cancel it. Trump added Cuba to the list in 2021, a few days before leaving the White House, AFP recalls. Apart from Havana, only Pyongyang and Damascus are on it.

The likely future US secretary of state urged China not to further destabilize the Indo-Pacific region, including the areas around Taiwan and the Philippines, Kyodo notes.

Beijing "is forcing us to focus our attention in ways that we would prefer not to have to," Rubio said at the hearing. He added that China is trying to establish its supremacy in the region in a way that would have "historic consequences" for smaller countries.

According to Rubio, China generally believes that "all roads lead to Beijing". But countries like Australia, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam are not seen as "vassal states", the likely top US diplomat noted.