Guam leader backs ‘punch in the nose’ for Pyongyang

HAGATNA: Guam’s leader said “sometimes a bully can only be stopped with a punch in the nose”, in a spirited defence of President Donald Trump’s rhetoric against North Korea which has the island in its crosshairs.

While Trump’s critics have accused him of inflaming tensions with Pyongyang, Guam governor Eddie Calvo said yesterday that he was grateful the US leader was taking a strong stance against North Korean threats against his Pacific homeland.

“Everyone who grew up in the schoolyard in elementary school, we all understand a bully,” Calvo said.

“(North Korean leader) Kim Jongun is a bully with some very strong weapons ... a bully has to be countered very strongly.”

Calvo, a Republican, said Trump was being unfairly criticised over his handling of the North Korea crisis, which escalated when Pyongyang announced plans to launch missiles toward Guam in a “crucial warning”.

He said North Korea had threatened Guam – a US territory which hosts two large military bases and is home to more than 6,000 military personnel – at least three times since 2013.

He said previous presidents had also used strong words to warn off Pyongyang, pointing out Barack Obama said last year that “we could, obviously, destroy North Korea with our arsenal”.

“One president (Obama) said it one way, cool and calmly with a period ... the other said fire and fury with an exclamation point, but it still leads to the same message,” Calvo said. — AFP