Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Thursday (April 18) said that he would recommend the U.S. destroy the North Korean regime should Pyongyang ever attempt to use nuclear weapons.

"I think that North Koreans should be warned - as I have warned them when I was in government and warn them now as a private citizen - that any use of such (nuclear) weapons, or if we think that those weapons are about to be used, then the North Koreans will be held to account. And we have a capacity to destroy that regime. And I think that's what I would recommend we do if they ever use such a weapon," Powell said, speaking at a Sberbank investment forum in Moscow

"I just hope that sooner or later they will realize there's a better world for the people living in North Korea. And I hope that the Chinese will do everything they can to move the North Koreans to that conclusion. So take it (North Korean threats) seriously, but he (Kim Jong-un) would be committing suicide if he ever used such a weapon, his regime would be committing suicide," Powell added.