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| North Korea's foreign minister: Trump has declared war on our country | North Korea's foreign minister: Trump has declared war on our country |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| North Korea has threatened to shoot down US bombers in international airspace, claiming that, with a weekend tweet, Donald Trump had declared war. | North Korea has threatened to shoot down US bombers in international airspace, claiming that, with a weekend tweet, Donald Trump had declared war. |
| The North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong-ho said: “The whole world should clearly remember it was the US who first declared war on our country.” He referred in particular to Trump’s tweet on Sunday that warned that the regime’s leaders “won’t be around much longer”. | The North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong-ho said: “The whole world should clearly remember it was the US who first declared war on our country.” He referred in particular to Trump’s tweet on Sunday that warned that the regime’s leaders “won’t be around much longer”. |
| In his first address to the UN last Tuesday, Trump had also warned that if the US and its allies were attacked, he would “totally destroy” North Korea. Ri said the UN and the international community had hoped that the war of words between the two countries would not turn into “real action”. | In his first address to the UN last Tuesday, Trump had also warned that if the US and its allies were attacked, he would “totally destroy” North Korea. Ri said the UN and the international community had hoped that the war of words between the two countries would not turn into “real action”. |
| “However, last weekend Trump claimed that our leadership won’t be around much longer, and hence at last he declared war on our country,” Ri said, speaking to journalists through an interpreter outside the UN general assembly in New York. “Given the fact that this came from someone who holds the seat of the US presidency, this is clearly a declaration of war.” | “However, last weekend Trump claimed that our leadership won’t be around much longer, and hence at last he declared war on our country,” Ri said, speaking to journalists through an interpreter outside the UN general assembly in New York. “Given the fact that this came from someone who holds the seat of the US presidency, this is clearly a declaration of war.” |
| Ri added: “Since the United States declared war on our country, we will have every right to make counter-measures, including the right to shoot down United States strategic bombers even when they are not yet inside the airspace border of our country. | |
| “The question of who won’t be around much longer will be answered then.” | |
| The US denied it had declared war but warned it had military options if North Korea does anything “provocative”. | |
| Katina Adams, a spokeswoman for the state department, said: “The United States has not declared war on North Korea. We continue to seek a peaceful denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. No nation has the right to fire on other nations’ aircraft or ships in international airspace or waters.” | |
| Meanwhile, the Pentagon said it had the right to fly sorties off the North Korean coast and would continue to do so. Robert Manning, a defence department spokesman, said that the US military had options. | |
| Manning said: “If North Korea does not stop their provocative actions … we will make sure that we provide options to the president to deal with North Korea.” | |
| Ri’s threat came after a week in which tensions between the US and North Korea escalated rapidly, with an exchange of insults between Trump and Kim Jong-un, the North Korean dictator, and culminating in Trump’s Sunday tweet and a sortie by US B-1B heavy bombers off the North Korean coast, for the first time flying north of the 38th parallel, that has separated North and South Korea since the 1950-53 war. | Ri’s threat came after a week in which tensions between the US and North Korea escalated rapidly, with an exchange of insults between Trump and Kim Jong-un, the North Korean dictator, and culminating in Trump’s Sunday tweet and a sortie by US B-1B heavy bombers off the North Korean coast, for the first time flying north of the 38th parallel, that has separated North and South Korea since the 1950-53 war. |
| The US and North Korea have remained at war ever since, formally speaking. There was no peace treaty, and a UN armistice has remained in force since 1953. | |
| Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N. If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won't be around much longer! | Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N. If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won't be around much longer! |
| North Korea claims its national airspace extends up to 50 miles off its coast, while the US recognizing only the international norm of 12 nautical miles. | North Korea claims its national airspace extends up to 50 miles off its coast, while the US recognizing only the international norm of 12 nautical miles. |
| This is not the first time the Pyongyang regime has accused the US of declaring war, and it has previously shot down US aircraft, a navy surveillance plane in 1969, killing 31 servicemen and an army helicopter in 1994, killing a pilot. | This is not the first time the Pyongyang regime has accused the US of declaring war, and it has previously shot down US aircraft, a navy surveillance plane in 1969, killing 31 servicemen and an army helicopter in 1994, killing a pilot. |
| However, experts and officials say the risks of all out war are now substantially greater. North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), has developed and tested a nuclear warhead, probably a hydrogen bomb, and long range missiles, while the leaders of both countries have made the confrontation between their two countries, a personal test of strength. | However, experts and officials say the risks of all out war are now substantially greater. North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), has developed and tested a nuclear warhead, probably a hydrogen bomb, and long range missiles, while the leaders of both countries have made the confrontation between their two countries, a personal test of strength. |
| Vipin Narang, an expert on the Korean peninsula showdown at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said that the Pyongyang regime “really hates the B-1B flights. They’re clearly making the regime nervous about a surprise attack. This is how war by miscalculation starts.” | Vipin Narang, an expert on the Korean peninsula showdown at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said that the Pyongyang regime “really hates the B-1B flights. They’re clearly making the regime nervous about a surprise attack. This is how war by miscalculation starts.” |
| “Yesterday’s flight went further north than any this century, though still in international airspace east of DPRK,” Narang said. “But Kim seems to be worried, and reasonably so, that such a flight is exactly how a surprise decapitation or counterforce strike could start. So what we intend as a ‘show of strength’ could easily be mistaken as a prelude to a surprise attack, forcing Kim to go preemptively.” | “Yesterday’s flight went further north than any this century, though still in international airspace east of DPRK,” Narang said. “But Kim seems to be worried, and reasonably so, that such a flight is exactly how a surprise decapitation or counterforce strike could start. So what we intend as a ‘show of strength’ could easily be mistaken as a prelude to a surprise attack, forcing Kim to go preemptively.” |
| He said: “It is unclear to me what the more aggressive shows of strength achieve – we can deter DPRK and reassure our allies in a multitude of other ways that are less risky and don’t throw poison ivy all over Kim’s itchy finger trigger.” | He said: “It is unclear to me what the more aggressive shows of strength achieve – we can deter DPRK and reassure our allies in a multitude of other ways that are less risky and don’t throw poison ivy all over Kim’s itchy finger trigger.” |
| The UN secretary general, António Guterres, warned that heated rhetoric could only increases the risk of confrontation. | The UN secretary general, António Guterres, warned that heated rhetoric could only increases the risk of confrontation. |
| “Fiery talk can lead to fatal misunderstandings,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told reporters. “The only solution for this is a political solution.” | “Fiery talk can lead to fatal misunderstandings,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told reporters. “The only solution for this is a political solution.” |