N Korea not to attack, for now

DEESCALATION Kim Jong Un says he would watch a little more “the foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees”

Korea appeared on Tuesday to pause its threat to launch ballistic missiles toward Guam, saying it would wait to assess “the foolish and stupid conduct” of the US before carrying out the launchings.

The statement came as the US and South Korea were preparing to conduct joint military exercises on the Korean Peninsula and surrounding waters despite North Korea’s vehement opposition to such drills.

In response to threats from President Donald Trump, North Korea’s military announced last week that by mid-August it would submit a plan to Kim Jong Un, the country’s leader, for launching four ballistic missiles into waters around Guam, the US territory that is home to its military bases.

On Monday, Kim reviewed the plan while visiting the command of the Strategic Force of the Korean People’s Army but said he would wait a bit before telling the military to proceed with the missile launchings, the state media reported on Tuesday.

“He said that the US imperialists caught the noose around their necks due to their reckless military confrontation racket, adding that they would watch a little more the foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees,” said the report from the Korean Central News Agency.

Kim’s decision to wait “a little more” before ordering the strike represented a slight ratcheting down of tensions and came after some of Trump’s top aides on Monday tried to tamp down fears of a clash after his threat to rain “fire and fury” on North Korea.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in offered an unusually blunt rebuke to the Trump administration’s discussions of possible military responses to the North, saying no country should take military action on the Korean Peninsula without his government’s approval.