The US is worried that North Korea’s expanding nuclear arsenal will trigger a global arms race, CIA Director Mike Pompeo has said.

Mr Pompeo suggested that North Korea – which has a burgeoning nuclear programme but a faltering economy – may start selling its weapons to other countries.

“One of the risks of allowing the North Korean regime to continue to have this nuclear capability is this proliferation risk – that this technology they have developed and then figured out how to manufacture … would then be proliferated elsewhere in the world,” Mr Pompeo said during an appearance at the American Enterprise Institute, according to Politico.

He added: “It doesn’t take too much imagination to understand that if they continue to have that nuclear weapons system, and if the Iranians make advances in theirs, that many other countries around the world will decide me too, that I want to have one of those things that that guy has.”

The CIA could not guarantee, Mr Pompeo added, that they could detect exchanges of nuclear intelligence in foreign countries.

North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Show all 13 1 /13 North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Pyongyang residents react after the news of the successful launch of the new intercontinental ballistic missile AFP/Getty Images North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un signing an order to test-fire the newly developed inter-continental ballistic missile KRT via AP Video North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch A news broadcast displays Kim Jong Un's signed document AP North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch People cheer as they watch the news broadcast announcing Kim Jong Un's order to test-fire the new inter-continental ballistic missile AFP/Getty Images North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Residents react after the document signing AP North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Pyongyang residents celebrate Kim Jong Un's announcement AFP/Getty North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Cheering Pyongyang residents react AP North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch To counter North Korea's missile test, South Korea fired missiles into the East Sea The Defence Ministry/Yonhap via REUTERS North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch The Hyunmu-2 missiles firing during the drill South Korean Defense Ministry vi North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch The exercise was carried out in an attempt to counter Kim Jong Un's order South Korea Defense Ministry via AP North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch The South Korean army continue to carry out military exercises AP North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Where K-9 self-propelled howitzers were taking part in a drill Rex Features North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch US soldiers are also present in the border city of Paju AFP/Getty Images

North Korea's economy is struggling under the weight of international sanctions imposed by the UN Security Counsel, which target its imports of petroleum products. The US announced its own, new measures on Wednesday, sanctioning nine entities, 16 people and six ships accused of helping Pyongyang develop nuclear weapons.

Mr Pompeo said he believes North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is building his weapons arsenal for more than just defensive purposes. He suggested that Mr Kim could use his arsenal for “coercive” means, including the ultimate goal of reunifying the Korean peninsula under his rule.

President Donald Trump, the Director said, was intent on finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis. But he added that the administration is working on a "series of options" so that the President would have "the full sweep of possibilities”.

North Korea and South Korea open line of communication

Mr Pompeo is not the first to warn that Pyongyang's expanding arsenal could cause international nuclear proliferation. Former US Secretary of Defense William Perry told Politico more than a year ago that the US was “sleepwalking” into a “new nuclear arms race”.

“I am not suggesting that this Cold War and this arms race is identical to the old one, but in many ways it is just as bad; just as dangerous," he said at the time.

Countries surrounding the North, such as South Korea and Japan, would likely be the first to seek armament, experts say. Conservative legislators in Seoul have already suggested that the US re-deploy its nuclear weapons to South Korea or allow them to develop their own, according to Reuters.

The US withdrew its nuclear weapons from South Korea in 1992, when the North and South both agreed to denuclearise. North Korea’s nuclear tests and missile development are in violation of this treaty.