Ramping up the threat, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea fires back and threatens the U.S. pacific island of Guam with a missile attack. This comes after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Pyongyang of ‘fire and fury.’
CGTN’s Nathan King has the report.
China is calling for calm after both the U.S. and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea exchange bellicose language over Pyongyang’s nuclear threat.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said, “China calls on all parties to avoid any words or actions that might escalate the situation and make even greater efforts to resolve the issue via talks.”
President Trump threatened Pyongyang with “fire and fury like the world has never seen” if it continued to threaten the U.S.
The DPRK specifically said it may target the U.S. pacific territory of Guam.
There are conflicting voices however coming from the Trump administration. The U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the U.S. isn’t considering military action at this time.
But U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis in a tougher statement said, “The DPRK must choose to stop isolating itself and stand down its pursuit of nuclear weapon. The DPRK should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people.”
The White House said all this messaging has been coordinated but there are questions about apparent contradictions in policy and criticism even from Trump’s political allies in the U.S.
And in a show of force, the U.S. flew two strategic bombers near the Korean Peninsula in a training mission with Japanese and South Korean fighter planes.
With all the strong words from Washington, the fact remains that there are no good options when it comes to military action against Pyongyang. And Washington has so far rejected Chinese proposals to freeze joint military exercises with Seoul in return for a freeze on Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile tests.