Trump: Time for talks with N Korea is over
He ratchets up tension – as US reveals test flight for its new nuke
DONALD Trump warned yesterday that ‘talking is not the answer’ to reining in North Korea, raising fears that the US could respond to missile launches with military force.
The US President’s statement came after the despotic regime once again threatened to strike the American territory of Guam.
Raising the stakes in the nuclear standoff, Mr Trump tweeted: ‘The US has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer!’
As he spoke, the US revealed that it had conducted a second series of test flights involving the most dangerous nuclear weapon ever produced.
An F-15E jet dropped an inert version of the ‘ super-nuke’ over the Nevada desert earlier this month, following an earlier test in March, to assess the fighter’s ability to carry the bomb – an upgraded version of a weapon that has been part of the US arsenal for decades.
Officials say the latest tests using mock versions of the bomb will be vital to upgrading it. It is described as the most dangerous nuclear device ever produced because its yield can be adjusted between the equivalent of 50,000 tons and 300 tons of TNT. It is also more accurate than ever.
Yesterday, when asked if America had run out of diplomatic solutions with North Korea, US Defence Secretary James Mattis appeared to disagree with the President. The general said: ‘No, we are never out of diplomatic solutions. We continue to work together, and the [South Korean] minister and I share a responsibility to provide for the protection of our nations, our populations and our interests.’
Mr Trump’s mention of ‘extortion money’ to North Korea appeared to be a reference to previous American aid to the country.
A Congressional Research Service report said that between 1995 and 2008, the US gave North Korea more than $1.3billion (£1billion) in assistance. The aid was part of a nuclear deal that North Korea later violated.
Mr Trump’s latest tweet drew criticism in Washington. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy wrote on Twitter: ‘Bar is high, but this is perhaps the most dangerous, irresponsible tweet of his entire presidency. Millions of lives at stake… not a game.’ Mr Trump’s statement came after North Korea launched a missile that flew over northern Japan on Tuesday in a significant escalation of the crisis rocking the Korean peninsula. President Trump, who has vowed not to let North Korea develop nuclear missiles that can hit the American mainland, had said in an earlier statement that ‘ all options are on the table’. North Korea said the launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile was to counter American and South Korean military drills.
North Korean leader Kim Jongun then said the test was ‘a meaningful prelude to containing Guam’, where the US has a large military facility, and referred to it as an ‘advanced base of invasion’.
He suggested that his country should conduct more missile tests in the Pacific Ocean. The dictator was pictured beaming, surrounded by laughing flunkies, as he observed the test of the missile that flew over Japan’s northernmost main island, Hokkaido, before breaking up and crashing into the ocean.
Yesterday America practised shooting down ballistic missiles during a test off Hawaii.
The 15-member UN Security Council condemned Kim’s firing of the missile over Japan as ‘outrageous’ and demanded North Korea halt its weapons programme.