Trump warns North Korea to be ‘nervous’ of further threats
DONALD Trump has said that his “fire and fury” threats against North Korea have not been “tough enough” as he warned Pyongyang risks being “in trouble like few nations have ever been”.
After days of escalating rhetoric between the Trump administration and North Korea over the threat posed by Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programmes, the president showed no signs of toning down his language, even as 60 members of Congress signed a letter protesting his “irresponsible and dangerous” statements.
“It’s about time someone stood up for the people of our country,” the US President told reporters.
Mr Trump (right) said earlier this week that North Korea faces “retaliation with fire and fury unlike any the world has seen before” if it continues to threaten the US, rattling both allies and adversaries and leading to the letter of complaint from Congress sent to Secretary of State Rex Tilleron on Thursday.
“Frankly, the people who were questioning that statement, was it too tough? Maybe it wasn’t tough enough,” Mr Trump said.
“And we’re backed 100% by our military, we’re back by everybody and we’re backed by many other leaders. And I noticed that many senators and others came out very much in favour of what I said. But if anything that statement may not be tough enough.”
Taking specifically about North Korean leader Kim Jongun, the president said: “He has disrespected our country greatly. He has said things that are horrific. And with me, he’s not getting away with it. He got away with it for a long time between him and his family. This is a whole new ball game.”
Mr Trump’s latest remarks came after North Korea’s staterun media claimed it was formulating plans to strike the US territory of Guam with “historic enveloping fire” and taunted Mr Trump as “bereft of reason” and someone for whom “only absolute force can work”.
The North Korean military’s claims that it would have plans to strike Guam with four missiles completed by “mid-August” prompted Mr Trump’s latest response.
When asked if he was considering a pre-emptive strike, Mr Trump responded: “We don’t talk about that. I nev- er do.” But he did say that he would soon be announcing a plan to invest billions of dollars in missile defence to protect the US.
The president said the US has been negotiating with North Korea for 25 years and that his nation “would always consider negotiations”. “The people of this country should be very comfortable,” Mr Trump said.
“And I will tell you this: if North Korea does anything in terms of even thinking about attack of anybody that we love or we represent or our allies or us, they can be very, very nervous. I’ll tell you why. And they should be very nervous. Because things will happen to them like they never thought possible, okay? He’s been pushing the world around for a long time.”
Senior Democrats had called the language “reckless”, with some of those in Congress arguing that strikes on North Korea would require their sign-off.
And former US President Jimmy Carter also rebuked both nations.
“The harsh rhetoric from Washington and Pyongyang has exacerbated an already confrontational relationship and has probably eliminated any chance of good faith peace talks between the United States and North Korea,” he said.