TRUMP WARNS DICTATORS U.S. WILL ‘NEVER YIELD’

TOKYO Donald Trump issued a stark warning to North Korea that “no dictator” should underestimate the resolve of the U.S. as he kicked off his 12-day Asian tour.

Amid speculation Pyongyang could seek to undermine the trip by undertaking a missile test, the U.S. president delivered his sabre-rattling comments in Tokyo Sunday.

He said: “No one, no dictator, no regime and no nation should underestimate American resolve. Every once in a while in the past, they underestimated us. It was not pleasant for them, was it? We will never yield, never waver and never falter in defence of our people, our freedom and our great American flag.”

The escalation in rhetoric came as Pentagon officials released a stark assessment that the only way to neutralize North Korea’s nuclear weapon sites “with complete-certainty” would be through a ground invasion.

In a letter to members of Congress, Rear Admiral Michael J. Dumont, vice-director of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff, also warned that, in a conflict, North Korea may use biological weapons, including “nerve, blister, blood and choking agents.”

Trump confirmed he would almost certainly meet with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, on the sidelines of a summit in Vietnam later in his trip and seek his support for reining in North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s regime.