President Trump has warned that “North Korea is looking for trouble”, adding that if China “does not decide to help”, the US “will solve the problem without them”.
The president wrote the message on Twitter after revealing he had urged his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to put pressure on Pyongyang to stop its nuclear weapons programme.
His warning came as Moscow said it was “extremely worried” the US would attack the Hermit Kingdom after North Korea warned it had Southeast Asian US bases “in its nuclear sights”.
Pyongyang had earlier threatened “catastrophic consequences” after the USS Carl Vinson aircraft-carrier strike group was diverted towards the Korean Peninsular. In a propaganda film released last month, the regime threatened to destroy the ship.
At the same time, China has moved 150,000 troops to its border with North Korea. Analysts believe this in is in anticipation of a flood of refugees should the situation deteriorate further.
Last week, Pyongyang commented on America’s bombing raid on Syria, calling it “an unforgivable act of aggression” and saying it justified its nuclear programme “a million times over”.
The US took action after 87 civilians were killed in an apparent chemical attack that Washington blamed on Assad’s forces.
This morning, the DPRK — the official name of North Korea — warned of a nuclear attack on the US at any sign of pre-emptive action. A state-run newspaper said the country was prepared to respond to any aggression.
“Our revolutionary strong army is keenly watching every move by enemy elements with our nuclear sight focused on the US invasionary bases not only in South Korea and the Pacific operation theatre but also in the US mainland,’ the Rodong Sinmun newspaper was quoted as saying.
Yesterday, the South Korean news agency KCNA quoted a North Korean foreign ministry spokesman as saying: “This goes to prove that the US reckless moves for invading the DPRK have reached a serious phase.
“The DPRK is ready to react to any mode of war desired by the US.
“We will hold the US wholly accountable for the catastrophic consequences to be entailed by its outrageous actions.
“We will take the toughest counteraction against the provocateurs in order to defend ourselves by powerful force of arms.”
The latest escalation of tensions build on Pyongyang’s anger at the annual Eagle Foal war-games currently being held by American, South Korean and Japanese armed forces and recent missile tests by the North.
Pyongyang considers the exercises as a dress rehearsal for invasion, while the North’s missile launches are a violation of UN resolutions.
READ MORE:
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Trump: If China doesn’t deal with North Korea, we will do it ourselves
Kim Jong Un vows to hit USS Carl Vinson as carrier drills with South Korean forces (video)
How do you solve a problem like Korea? Can US and China sing to the same tune?
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