N. Korea threatens America
N. Korea threatens, U.S. jets zoom
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S personal insults against Kim Jong Un increased the likelihood that North Korea will attack the U.S., its foreign minister warned Saturday.
Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, in a speech at the UN General Assembly, slammed what he described as Trump’s “lacking of basic common knowledge and proper sentiment.”
“He committed an irreversible mistake of making our rockets’ visit to the entire U.S. mainland inevitable all the more,” Ri warned.
Ri was referring to Trump’s remarks at the UN on Wednesday, when he called the North Korean dictator “Rocket Man on a suicide mission” in a fiery speech before scores of world leaders.
Trump had vowed to “totally destroy” the rogue nation should it continue testing nuclear missiles.
The President responded to Ri in a provocative tweet late Saturday.
“Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N. If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won't be around much longer,” Trump wrote.
The tensions between the two countries reached new heights early Saturday when American bomber and fighter jets flew along North Korea's eastern coastline.
“This mission is a demonstration of U.S. resolve and a clear message that the President has many military options to defeat any threat,” said chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White.
Later in the day, the North Korea foreign minister devoted the opening of his 20-minute UN speech to a full-throated rebuke of Trump’s insults.
“None other than Trump himself is on a suicide mission,” Ri said. “In case innocent lives of the U.S. are harmed because of this suicide attack, Trump will be held totally responsible.”
“Trump might not have been aware what is uttered from his mouth... but we will make sure that he bears consequences far beyond his words, far beyond the scope of what he can handle,” he added.
North Korea has conducted several weapons and missile tests in recent months, leading to round after round of sanctions from the UN.
Ri contended on Saturday that his country’s latest weapons — including a hydrogen bomb and an intercontinental ballistic missile — were only meant as a defense against America.
“The very reason the DPRK had to possess nuclear weapons is because of the U.S.,” he said.
Trump has traded barbs with North Korea for weeks.
Ri upped the ante Saturday, calling the former real estate developer a “gambler who grew old using threats, frauds and all other schemes to acquire a patch of lands” who now “holds the nuclear button.”
North Korea has threatened to fit a hydrogen bomb atop a rocket and launch it into the Pacific.
Trump will make the ultimate decision on how to respond if North Korea carries out the test, U.S. Secretary of State Tillerson said Friday. He said diplomatic channels were still open to denuclearizing the Korean peninsula — but all military options remain on the table.
Trump’s personal attacks on Kim were delivered against the advice of senior aides. They also weren’t included in a draft reviewed and vetted by several top officials, according to the Tribune Washington Bureau.