US warns it is ready to annihilate N Korea
Trump voices fury at North Korea’s H-bomb test as he attacks ‘appeasement’ of Kim Jong-un
NORTH Korea was warned last night that it faces a “massive military response” that would be “overwhelming” if the regime threatens America or its allies.
The US defence secretary said America was not looking to the “total annihilation” of the so-called rogue state, but warned that the Pentagon had “many options to do so”.
James Mattis was speaking following a meeting with Donald Trump to discuss a military response after North Korea tested a hydrogen bomb over the weekend. The blast was powerful enough to trigger an earthquake.
Late last night, South Korea launched a ballistic missile exercise in response.
Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, warned Mr Trump that any military action against North Korea could provoke Kim Jong-un to “vaporise” the South Korean population in response.
Angela Merkel said that Germany was focused on trying to persuade America to pursue a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
The UN Security Council will meet today to discuss further sanctions, but there is growing concern in Europe that Mr Trump is considering a unilateral response to the latest provocation.
Mr Trump led world condemnation of North Korea’s biggest nuclear test yet, describing the actions as “very hostile and dangerous” to the US.
He added that “appeasement with North Korea will not work”, having promised recently to rain “fire and fury” on the state if it continued to threaten the US. Mr Mattis had been considered a restraining influence on Mr Trump, but his statement last night suggests that the Pentagon may also now believe a red line has been crossed.
The Foreign Secretary condemned Pyongyang’s “reckless” test of the bomb, and described it as “a new order of threat”. He said that “all options are on the table, but we really don’t see any easy military solution”.
Mr Johnson added: “It’s certainly our view that none of the military options are good... the distance between North Korea and Seoul is very, very small and they could basically vaporise large parts of the South Korean population even with conventional weapons, so that’s not really very easy to threaten or to deliver.”
Calling on China to take stronger action against its client state, he went on: “It’s our view in the UK, overwhelmingly, that peaceful, diplomatic means are the best and we think the sanctions route still holds potential. China is responsible for 90 per cent of North Korea’s trade and North Korea only has six months of oil supplies left. There is scope to continue to put pressure on the regime.”
The hydrogen bomb test, the sixth to be carried out by North Korea and the first since Mr Trump became president, was 10 times as powerful as the most recent test last September, according to Japan.
DONALD TRUMP yesterday led world condemnation of North Korea’s biggest nuclear test yet, describing the actions of the “rogue nation” as “very hostile and dangerous” to the US.
He also poured scorn on South Korea for what he said were attempts at “appeasement” even though most allies believe Washington has little option but to pursue diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear crisis.
His impatience with diplomacy risks dividing the international alliance arrayed against Pyongyang, as Theresa May called for action at the United Nations Security Council.
South Korea last night said it had launched a ballistic missile exercise in response to the test.
The South’s military conducted a live-fire exercise simulating an attack on the North’s nuclear site, hitting “designated targets in the East Sea”, the state news agency Yonhap reported. quoting the joint chiefs of staff.
“The training came in response to the North’s sixth nuclear test... and involved the country’s Hyunmoo ballistic missile and the F-15K fighter jets,” it said. The South’s military said the range to the simulated targets were equivalent to the North’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site in its north-eastern province.
Pyongyang’s nuclear test was conducted in defiance of the US president’s recent promises to rain “fire and fury” on the country if it continued threatening the US.
Japan said the explosion was 10 times the strength of the last test in September 2016, while reports in South Korea said it was up to five times more powerful than the Nagasaki bomb.
The North said it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb that could be delivered by a long-range missile.
“The H-bomb test was carried out to examine and confirm the accuracy and credibility of the power control technology, and internal structural design newly introduced into manufacturing the H-bomb to be placed as the payload of the ICBM [inter-continental ballistic missile],” said state-run Korean Central News Agency.
Analysts said they could not be certain whether Pyongyang had developed a two-state nuclear device but added that the magnitude of the blast – representing a 100-plus kiloton bomb – suggested they were close.
That would represent a gamechanger in North Korea’s quest to join the exclusive club of nuclear powers.
World leaders were quick in their condemnation. But Mr Trump expressed impatience with diplomatic moves and turned his frustration on North Korea’s neighbours.
“North Korea is a rogue nation, which has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success,” he wrote, before adding: “South Korea is finding, as I have told them, that their talk of appeasement with North Korea will not work, they only understand one thing!”
Mr Trump has signalled repeatedly that he is considering military options. The Pentagon has a suite of plans for action, ranging from nuclear strikes and regime change to pre-emptive attacks on launch sites to take out missiles before they can be fired.
However, North Korea would be expected to use its conventional and nuclear arsenals in retaliation, launching devastating attacks on the South that would kill millions. As a result, Mr Trump risks dividing the international alliance arrayed against North Korea.
He met his national security team to discuss the issue yesterday while Steven Mnuchin, his treasury secretary, said he was drawing fresh sanctions that would require countries trading with the US to sever all ties with North Korea. Meanwhile, Japan said it had deployed “sniffer” jets to detect whether there had been any leaks of radiation. Moon Jae-in, president of South Korea, called for the “strongest punishment” against North Korea, including new United Nations sanctions.
China – North Korea’s key economic trading partner – also strongly condemned the nuclear test and criticised Pyongyang for ignoring international condemnation of its atomic weapons programme. Mr Trump also floated the idea of a broad US embargo on North Korea’s trade partners.
“The United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea,” he said.