WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump sought Tuesday to reassert an American military threat against North Korea, saying that "all options are on the table" in response to its launch of a missile over close U.S. ally Japan.
In a written statement, Trump said that North Korea's missile launch "signaled its contempt for its neighbors, for all members of the United Nations and for minimum standards of acceptable international behavior."
"Threatening and destabilizing actions only increase the North Korean regime's isolation in the region and among all nations of the world," Trump said. "All options are on the table."
Trump later told reporters, "We'll see, we'll see" when asked what he would do. Trump, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, was departing the White House to survey storm damage in southeast Texas.
North Korea on Tuesday fired a midrange ballistic missile designed to carry a nuclear payload. It flew over Japan and splashed into the northern Pacific Ocean, officials said, as Washington and South Korea were conducting war games nearby.
Three weeks ago, Trump warned of "fire and fury" if North Korea persisted in threatening the United States. A military solution, he added days later, was "locked and loaded."
But last week, the Trump administration adopted a more conciliatory tone. It praised the North for not launching any missiles for nearly a month and suggested its newfound restraint could point the way toward new negotiations. The hiatus ended when the North tested three short-range missiles off its eastern coast last Friday.
The president has repeatedly declined to discuss in any detail the potential for a pre-emptive strike on the North, telling reporters that any such deliberations must be kept private to avoid ceding any leverage to Pyongyang.
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.