President Donald Trump has threatened North Korea to assume “big, big trouble” if anything falls to the US territory of Guam.
Talking at his Bedminister, New Jersey golf resort, he promised the area would be “very safe, believe me.”
Mr. Trump told the US could impose further sanctions, “as strong as they get,” on North Korea. He later talked to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who emphasized the need for a peaceful resolution, Chinese TV said.
On Wednesday, the President said he would unleash “fire and fury like the world have never seen” on Pyongyang, which has carried successful tests in recent months of intercontinental ballistic missiles the could strike the US mainland.
On Thursday Trump said his warning may not have been severe enough and claimed past administrations had not done satisfactorily to take on North Korea.
According to a statement on North Korean state media, KCNA. North Korean officials told the US “would experience a shameful loss and final doom” if it “persists in extreme military adventure, sanctions, and pressure.”
Other members of the Trump power have attempted to play down Trump’s bellicose statements. Speaking in California Thursday, Mattis cautioned North Korea that the US military was able to take action, but said diplomatic efforts were the priority, Mattis warned of the outcomes of war.
Analysts assume that the escalation is unhelpful on resolving the increasingly tense situation in the Pacific.
