A former senior Navy official warned Sunday that the U.S. should not take North Korea's military capabilities lightly.



"When you look at North Korea, there are no real strategic challenges to the United States. But they are a capable force and we do need to take them seriously," William Parker, a former chief of staff for U.S. Naval Forces, said in an interview with John Catsimatidis that aired Sunday on New York's AM 970.

"The [North Koreans] currently do not have intercontinental ballistic missile capability, but they are getting there ... They still have a very significant military," he maintained.

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Parker explained that while he doubted some of the claims that the North Koreans have made about their military capabilities, they do have technologies that directly threaten U.S. allies in the region.