Yahoo News Trump: U.S. military "locked and loaded" on North Korea
President Donald Trump said on Friday that the U.S. military is “locked and loaded” should North Korea decide to “act unwisely” as the nuclear crisis between the two nations continues to escalate.
Military solutions are now fully in place,locked and loaded,should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 11, 2017
Trump’s latest Twitter salvo came as China pleaded with the rival countries to tone down their apocalyptic rhetoric amid growing international concerns that Pyongyang’s rogue weapons programme could trigger a nuclear conflict.
Beijing’s appeal came as North Korea said it could reduce the U.S. mainland to ashes “at any moment”. The Kim government’s official newspaper warned that Washington’s “reckless and hysteric” behaviour would be to blame if the U.S. was attacked.
The Trump administration has been “seized with anxiety and terror” following North Korea’s successful testing of a long-range missile, the Rodong Sinmun newspaper claimed, saying “U.S. military warmongers are running amok”.
Late Thursday night Trump doubled down on his dramatic warning of “fire and fury” if North Korea continued to threaten the U.S., as he scrambled to resolve the most serious international confrontation of his young presidency.
“If anything, maybe that statement wasn’t tough enough”, said Trump of his blistering message to the defiant Stalinist state a day earlier. After North Korea announced a plan to launch a missile strike on the U.S. territory of Guam will be ready in weeks, Trump warned of catastrophic retaliation.
But amid global disquiet over the crisis, senior U.S. officials have sought to play down tensions. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Tuesday that there was no “imminent threat” from North Korea, reassuring Americans that they could “sleep well at night”. Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis, meanwhile, said on Thursday that a diplomatic solution was possible as he warned any conflict would be “catastrophic”.
The Associated Press reported on Friday afternoon that beyond the public bluster, the Trump administration has been engaged in secret back channel diplomacy with North Korea for several months. Though there’s no suggestion of any breakthrough, the ongoing talks may suggest an openness on both sides to a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
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