On Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that a US intelligence assessment concluded North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead, a disclosure that rapidly intensified an already tense standoff with the rogue nation. Soon after the report, President Donald Trump warned Kim against making further threats, saying North Korea “will be met with the fire and the fury like the world has never seen.”

Whether Kim truly possesses the ability to miniaturize a nuclear warhead — and successfully launch it on an intercontinental missile — is unknown and remains hotly debated. Yet there is no doubt now that Kim has scored one major achievement: He is finally being taken seriously by the foreign policy establishment and intelligence agencies, evidenced by the latest assessment on his nuclear capabilities.

Moon Chung In, a national security adviser to South Korea’s president, said that Kim has taken rational steps to shore up his regime, with a goal of deterring any form of US attack or intervention. “North Korea is very, very stable,” said Moon during a recent interview in Seoul. “Kim Jong Un has consolidated power fully.”

Jonathan D Pollack, a Korea specialist and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, recalled how Senator John McCain of Arizona this year labeled Kim Jong Un as a “crazy fat kid.” He said seeing North Korea’s leader this way is risky. “I treat it seriously,” said Pollack of North Korea. “It’s not a cartoon because of its increasing capabilities.”