N. Korea fires 3 missiles, defies threat

NORTH KOREA defiantly launched a trio of missiles Saturday into the Sea of Japan, a sign of the isolated nation’s disregard for President Trump promises of “fire and fury.”

But the show of strength, following a frightening month of verbal volleys between the socialist regime and Trump, was a dud — with two missiles failing in flight and one blowing up at launch, according to initial assessments.

Trump began trading heated rhetoric with North Korean propaganda outlets amid reports that Pyongyang successfully miniaturized nuclear warheads to fit into missiles — an alarming improvement in their offensive capabilities. The war of words sparked fears of nuclear war.

The timing of Saturday’s tests also coincides with U.S. and South Korea’s annual war games in the region.

Earlier in the week, Trump told a crowd at a campaign rally that he felt North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (photo) was “starting to respect” the U.S.

Trump had previously said that Pyongyang would be met with “fire and fury” for further threats and that the U.S. military was “locked and loaded” after North Korea suggested that it could strike an American air base in Guam.

The White House said Trump was briefed on the missile launches. The failed projectiles did not land anywhere near the U.S. territory of Guam, a tiny island that Pyongyang explicitly threatened during heightened tensions with Trump.

They “did not pose a threat to North America” and “did not pose a threat to Guam,” U.S. Pacific Command, based in Hawaii, said in a statement.

Secretary of State Tillerson had praised “restraint” from the Kim regime earlier this week, lauding them for not conducting more missile tests after the latest round of United Nations sanctions.

He said that he could see the possibility of a dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang “sometime in the near future,” which would represent a departure from the saber-rattling earlier this month.