Trump warns North Korea of ‘fire and fury’

Washington, US - President Donald Trump gave North Korea an apocalyptic warning on Tuesday, saying it faced ‘fire and fury’ over its weapons programmes, as Pyongyang said it was considering a missile strike near the US territory of Guam.

Trump’s comments marked a sharp intensification of Washington’s rhetoric over the North’s nuclear and missile programmes - and his bellicose tone triggered expressions of concern from China as well as from US politicians and foreign allies.

The language the president used echoed that adopted by Pyongyang in its habitual promises to turn enemies like South Korea into a ‘sea of flames’.

“North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States,” said Trump, speaking from his golf club in New Jersey. ”They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”

North Korea raised the stakes just hours later, saying it was

considering missile strikes near US strategic military installations on the Pacific US territory of Guam.

Once finalised, the plan could be put into action at ‘any moment’ once leader Kim Jong-Un made a decision, the official Korean Central News Agency said.

Trump’s tone was markedly different to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s assurances last week that Washington was not seeking regime change in Pyongyang, and his comments drew a mixed response at home and abroad.

The remote island of Guam is a key US military outpost and home to some 6,000 US troops.