Trump says US will arm Japan to knock down North Korea’s missiles
TOKYO : President Donald Trump on Monday refused to rule out eventual military action against North Korea and declared that the United States “will not stand” for Pyongyang menacing America or its allies.
In his first stop of an extended trip in Asia, Trump stood with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a news conference and suggested the US will arm Japan, much as the United States has done with allies in the Middle East like Saudi Arabia. He did not deny reports t hat he has expressed frustration that Japan did not shoot down a ballistic missile North Korea recently fired over its territory.
“He will shoot ‘em out of the sky when he completes the purchase of lots of additional military equipment from the United States,” Trump said of Abe. “He will easily shoot them out of the sky.” Japan, under its war-renouncing Constitution, can shoot down a missile only when it is aimed at the country or if debris are falling on to its territory.
Some hawkish members of Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party say that it may be possible to shoot down a missile headed toward Guam in case it causes existential threat to the U.S. as Japan’s ally, but experts say that is questionable.
Standing in an Asia capital in range of North Korea’s missiles, Trump defended his fiery language, declaring Pyongyang “a threat to the civilized world.”
“Some people say my rhetoric is very strong but look what has happened with very weak rhetoric in the last 25 years.”