North Korea warns of ‘super-mighty preemptive strike’ and threatens to turn US ‘to ashes'(April 19, 2017)
US secretary of state Rex Tillerson said the United States was looking at ways to pressure North Korea over its nuclear programme as North Korean state media warned the Americans of a “super-mighty preemptive strike”, saying don’t “mess with us”.
President Donald Trump has taken a hard line with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who has rebuffed admonitions from sole major ally China and proceeded with nuclear and missile programmes in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions.
Reclusive North Korea regularly threatens to destroy Japan, South Korea and the United States and has shown no let-up in its belligerence after a failed missile test on Sunday, a day after putting on a huge display of missiles at a parade in Pyongyang.
“We’re reviewing all the status of North Korea, both in terms of state sponsorship of terrorism as well as the other ways in which we can bring pressure on the regime in Pyongyang to re-engage with us, but re-engage with us on a different footing than past talks have been held,” Mr Tillerson told reporters in Washington on Wednesday.
US Vice President Mike Pence, on a tour of Asian allies, has said repeatedly the “era of strategic patience” with North Korea is over.
On a visit to London Paul Ryan, US house of representatives speaker, said the military option must be part of the pressure brought to bear.
“Allowing this dictator to have that kind of power is not something that civilised nations can allow to happen,” he said in reference to Kim.
Mr Ryan said he was encouraged by the results of efforts to work with China to reduce tensions, but that it was unacceptable North Korea might be able to strike allies with nuclear weapons.
The North has warned of a nuclear strike against the US if provoked. It has said it has developed a missile that can strike the mainland US, but officials and experts believe it is some time away from mastering the necessary technology, including miniaturising a nuclear warhead.
The positions of the USS Carl Vinson
There has been some confusion over the whereabouts of a US aircraft carrier group after Mr Trump said last week that he had sent an “armada” as a warning to North Korea even as the ships were still far from Korean waters.
The US military’s Pacific Command explained that the USS Carl Vinson strike group first had to complete a shorter-than-initially planned period of training with Australia. But it was now heading for the Western Pacific as ordered, it said.
North Korea did not refer to the mix-up but said the United States and its allies “should not mess with us”.
The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, did not mince its words in a commentary, saying North Korea was fully prepared for any US attack.
“In the case of our super-mighty preemptive strike being launched, it will completely and immediately wipe out not only U.S. imperialists’ invasion forces in South Korea and its surrounding areas but the US mainland and reduce them to ashes.”
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