North Korea risking ‘fire and fury’
Trump fires verbal shot on news of nuclear warhead
Donald Trump uttered what may have been the most threatening words of his presidency, warning Tuesday of a strike of unprecedented power against North Korea after reports it now has the ability to fit a miniaturized nuclear warhead atop a long-range missile.
At the golf club where Trump is enjoying a 17-day holiday,
Alexander Panetta writes, the president stared at the assembled cameras and raised the stakes.
“North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “has been very threatening beyond a normal statement and, as I said, they will be met with fire, fury and, frankly, power the likes of which this world has never seen before.”
Trump’s warning was swiftly met with a counter-threat: A North Korean news agency announced that the government there was examining plans for attacking Guam to contain the island’s U.S. bases.
North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.
With crossed arms and a cold stare, Donald Trump uttered what may have been the most threatening words of his presidency, warning Tuesday of a strike of unprecedented power against North Korea in an escalating nuclear-themed standoff.
He delivered that warning after reports that North Korea has crossed a key threshold in becoming a full-fledged nuclear power, with an alleged new ability to fit a miniaturized nuclear warhead atop a long-range missile.
A reporter asked the U.S. president about this development during an unrelated meeting concerning the opioid crisis, at the golf club where Trump is enjoying a 17-day holiday. Trump stared at the assembled cameras and raised the stakes.
“North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen,” he said.
“(North Korean leader Kim Jong Un) has been very threatening beyond a normal statement and, as I said, they will be met with fire, fury and, frankly, power the likes of which this world has never seen before.”
The words came as a jolt. Even the stock market appeared to freeze after a days-long rally, with a dip Tuesday afternoon. A deluge of social-media commentary followed, ranging from dark humour to straight-up statements of alarm.
A North Korean defector and journalist predicted some of these developments several weeks ago in an email exchange with The Canadian Press.