Daily Record

North Korea conflict could break out at any moment

Chinese warn Trump and Tyrant’s army threatens Kim not to sleepwalk into war ‘merciless attack’ on enemies

- CHRIS HUGHES reporters@dailyrecor­d.co.uk Nuclear weapons Budget Active frontline personnel Active reserve personnel Aircraft Aircraft carriers Submarines

CHINA warned North Korea and America not to slide towards war yesterday as fears grew that tyrant Kim Jong Un would test another nuclear weapon within hours.

Foreign minister Wang Yi said in Beijing: “One has the feeling a conflict could break out at any moment.

“All relevant parties should be highly vigilant. We call on all parties to refrain from provoking and threatenin­g each other, whether in words or actions, and not let the situation get to an irreversib­le and unmanageab­le stage.”

Analysts believe Kim is planning to stage a nuclear test today. It’s the 105th anniversar­y of the birth of his grandfathe­r Kil Il Sung, who founded the Stalinist rogue state.

America has reacted by sending the heavily armed USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group to the waters off the Korean peninsula. And President Donald Trump stoked tensions on Thursday by warning that the problem of North Korea would be “taken care of ”.

Kim’s regime responded yesterday with their usual approach – furious threats. The army said: “Our toughest counteract­ion against the US and its vassal forces will be taken in such a merciless manner as not to allow the aggressors to survive.”

They said that if Trump attacked, they Tanks would destroy major US military bases in South Korea and the residence of the South Korean president “within minutes”.

North Korean vice foreign minister Han Song-ryol added: “We’ve got a powerful nuclear deterrent already in our hands and we certainly will not keep our arms crossed in the face of a US pre-emptive strike.

“Whatever comes from the US, we will cope with it. We are fully prepared.”

An institute with links to the North Korean foreign ministry claimed that “thermonucl­ear war may break out at any moment”.

Trump aides have warned that they have torn up Barack Obama’s “strategic patience” policy over North Korea’s race to develop a nuclear missile that could hit America.

And the president has vowed not to tolerate more provocatio­n from Pyongyang.

Trump’s recent cruise missile strike to punish Syrian dictator Bashar Assad for murdering civilians with Sarin nerve gas convinced some critics that he is too willing to use force.

And those fears grew this week when America dropped a colossal “Mother of All Bombs” on Isis terrorists in Afghanista­n.

The 10-ton MOAB device is America’s most powerful non-nuclear weapon. It reportedly obliterate­d a network of Isis tunnels, killing an estimated 36 fanatics.

US generals insisted that using it was a purely tactical decision, calling it “the right weapon for the right target”. But critics still

 ??  ?? TARGET America dropped MOAB on Isis tunnel network DESTROYED Cockpit camera captures aftermath of the blast
TARGET America dropped MOAB on Isis tunnel network DESTROYED Cockpit camera captures aftermath of the blast

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