BEDMINSTER, N.J. — Issuing a new threat to North Korea, President Donald Trump demanded that North Korea "get their act together" or face extraordinary trouble. He said his previous warning of "fire and fury" if Pyongyang threatened the U.S. again might have been too soft.
"Maybe that statement wasn't tough enough," Trump said Thursday.
Trump, speaking to reporters from the New Jersey golf resort where he's vacationing, said North Korea had been "getting away with a tragedy that can't be allowed." Still, he declined to say whether the U.S. was considering a pre-emptive military strike, arguing that his administration never discusses such deliberations publicly.
Trump's comments were his first since North Korea reacted to his "fire and fury" threat by announcing a detailed plan to launch a salvo of ballistic missiles toward the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, a major military hub and home to U.S. bombers. Trump said it was time that somebody stood up to the pariah nation.
"North Korea better get their act together or they are going to be in trouble like few nations have ever been in trouble," Trump said, flanked by Vice President Mike Pence. "It may very well be tougher than I said."
Trump said the U.S. "of course" would always consider negotiations with North Korea but added that negotiations with the North have failed for the last 25 years. He accused his predecessors of failing to effectively address the North Korea problem.
Alluding to the threats against Guam, Trump said if North Korea took any steps to even think about an attack, it would have reason to be nervous.
"Things will happen to them like they never thought possible, OK?" Trump said. Of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump added: "He's been pushing the world around for a long time."
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SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea has announced a detailed plan to launch a salvo of ballistic missiles toward the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, a major military hub and home to U.S. bombers.
The announcement Thursday warned that the North is finalizing a plan to fire four of its Hwasong-12 missiles over Japan and into waters around the tiny island, which hosts 7,000 U.S. military personnel on two main bases and has a population of 160,000.
Japan and South Korea vowed a strong reaction if the North were to go through with the plan.
It said the plan, which involves the missiles hitting waters 19 to 25 miles from the island, could be sent to leader Kim Jong Un for approval within a week or so. It would be up to Kim whether the move is actually carried out.
It is unclear whether — or exactly why — North Korea would risk firing missiles so close to U.S. territory. Such a launch would almost compel the United States to attempt an intercept and possibly generate further escalation.
North Korea frequently uses rhetoric with warnings of military action to keep its adversaries on their heels. It generally couches its threats with language stating it will not attack the United States unless it has been attacked first or has determined an attack is imminent.
But the statement raised worries amid threats from both sides.
After reports that U.S. intelligence suggests the North might be able to pair a nuclear warhead with a missile capable of reaching targets on the United States mainland, President Donald Trump warned North Korea that “it faces retaliation with fire and fury unlike any the world has seen before.”
Pyongyang, meanwhile, has been louder in its complaints against a new and tough round of sanctions imposed by the United Nations, with strong U.S. backing, and Washington’s use of Guam as a staging ground for its stealth bombers, which could be used to attack North Korea and are a particularly sore point with the ruling regime in Pyongyang.
Its reported plan is extremely specific, suggesting it is actually plotting a launch.
The report said the Hwasong-12 rockets would fly over Shimane, Hiroshima and Koichi prefectures in Japan and travel “1,065 seconds before hitting the waters 30 to 40 kilometers away from Guam.” It said the Korean People’s Army Strategic Force will finalize the plan by mid-August, present it to Kim Jong Un and “wait for his order.”
“We keep closely watching the speech and behavior of the U.S.,” it said.
South Korea’s military responded by saying North Korea will face a “stern and strong” response from Washington and Seoul. Japan’s Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told parliament that a missile attack on the U.S. territory would be a Japanese national emergency because it would threaten Japan’s existence as a nation.
Guam lies about 2,100 miles from the Korean Peninsula.
Washington has been testing its missile defenses in response to the North’s stepped-up development, and the current escalation of tensions could lead to pressure for the U.S. military to try to shoot down the North’s missiles in mid-flight if they are heading toward Guam.