Posts
US defence secretary warns North Korea that it risks the 'end of its regime and the destruction of its people' if it does not back down and that it is 'grossly outmatched' by the allied armies now pitted against it
-
Two U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers from Guam military base took part in 10-hour mission over Korean peninsula
-
Hours later, North Korea warned it was 'carefully examining' plans to make 'an enveloping fire' around Guam
-
Trump had earlier said any threat to the U.S. would be met with 'fire and fury like the world has never seen'
-
This morning North Korea said the training mission 'proves that the U.S. imperialists are nuclear war maniacs'
-
Guam's governor has said that the White House has reassured the island that 'America will be defended'
-
Pyongyang previously said U.S. would 'pay dearly' for UN sanctions it successfully imposed over the weekend
-
US officials believe Kim Jong-Un has built a miniaturized warhead and has an arsenal of 60 nuclear bombs
-
But US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said this morning he does 'not believe that there is any imminent threat' from North Korea, and 'Americans should sleep well at night'
9
August, 2017
US
defence secretary James Mattis has issued a dramatic ultimatum to
North Korea to 'cease any consideration of actions that would lead to
the end of its regime and destruction of its people'.
In
a star warning he said: 'The DPRK should cease any consideration of
actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction
of its people.
'The
DPRK regime's actions will continue to be grossly overmatched by ours
and would lose any arms race or conflict it initiates.'
His
comments come amid fears the crisis over North
Korea could
spiral in to global war after Donald
Trump and Kim
Jong-un made
unprecedented threats to trade devastating missile strikes.
President
Trump tweeted that America's nuclear arsenal is 'far stronger and
more powerful than ever before', adding: 'There will never be a time
that we are not the most powerful nation in the world!'
His
remarks came after Pyongyang's volatile dictator warned he was
'carefully examining' plans to make 'an enveloping fire' around the
US island of Guam, which is home to about 163,000 people and a
sprawling American military base.
President
Trump earlier made an apocalyptic warning that North Korea faces
'fire and fury like the world has never seen' over its nuclear
program.
US
defence secretary James Mattis has issued a dramatic ultimatum to
North Korea to 'cease any consideration of actions that would lead to
the end of its regime and destruction of its people'.
In
a star warning he said: 'The DPRK should cease any consideration of
actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction
of its people.
'The
DPRK regime's actions will continue to be grossly overmatched by ours
and would lose any arms race or conflict it initiates.'
His
comments come amid fears the crisis over North
Korea could
spiral in to global war after Donald
Trump and Kim
Jong-un made
unprecedented threats to trade devastating missile strikes.
President
Trump tweeted that America's nuclear arsenal is 'far stronger and
more powerful than ever before', adding: 'There will never be a time
that we are not the most powerful nation in the world!'
His
remarks came after Pyongyang's volatile dictator warned he was
'carefully examining' plans to make 'an enveloping fire' around the
US island of Guam, which is home to about 163,000 people and a
sprawling American military base.
President
Trump earlier made an apocalyptic warning that North Korea faces
'fire and fury like the world has never seen' over its nuclear progra
Two
U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers from Guam's military base participated in
a strategic bilaterial mission with South Korea and Japan hours
before North Korea threatened to strike Guam. Pictured top left and
right are the two B-1B Lancer bombers and bottom left and center are
Japan Self-Defense Forces F-2 fighter jets near Kyushu, Japan during
the mission
Tens of thousands of North Koreans gathered for a rally at Kim Il Sung Square today carrying placards and propaganda slogans as a show of support for their rejection of the United Nations' latest round of sanctions
The 10-hour mission from Guam's Andersen Air Force Base (above) took place on Monday and was the first for the aircraft and crews recently deployed from South Dakota's Ellsworth Air Force Base to support U.S. Pacific Command's Continuous Bomber Presence missions
'How we train is how we fight and the more we interface with our allies, the better prepared we are to fight tonight,' one of the pilots with the 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron B-1 said. Pictured above is a B-1B Lancer bombers taking off for the mission
The two bombers (above at take off) flew in the vicinity of Kyushu, Japan, the East China Sea, and the Korean peninsula. The U.S. released photos of the mission late Tuesday seemingly in response to North Korea's threat to strike Guam
The crews practiced intercept and formation training, which gave them an opportunity to improve their combined capabilities and tactical skills. Above a B-1B Lancer bomber is pictured during the mission
The fresh war of words comes weeks after Kim Jong-un carried out a test launch of its Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile (pictured)
America
released images of supersonic bombers flying over the Korean
peninsula while American airmen in Guam have said they are ready to
'fight tonight'. The North said the training mission 'proves
that the U.S. imperialists are nuclear war maniacs'.
Kim
Jong-un's officials today staged a rally in Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung
Square where tens of thousands stood in organised rows interspersed
with placards and slogans. The giant gathering was a response to
tough new sanctions adopted by the UN and spearheaded by
Washington.
As
tensions escalated today, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
attempted to play down President Trump's earlier incendiary warning,
saying he was just trying to send a strong message in language its
leader would understand.
He
explained: 'I think Americans should sleep well at night, have no
concerns about this particular rhetoric of the last few days.'
He
added: 'I think what the president was just reaffirming is that the
United States has the capability to fully defend itself from any
attack, and our allies, and we will do so.'
In
his tweet earlier, Trump reaffirmed his threat from a day earlier by
reposting video of him warning that Pyongyang would be 'met with fire
and fury like the world has never seen' if it made more threats to
the US.
He
added: 'My first order as President was to renovate and modernize our
nuclear arsenal. It is now far stronger and more powerful than ever
before....'
Kim,
who boasts that his intercontinental rockets can reach the west coast
of America, has warned the US that it would 'pay dearly' for UN
sanctions it successfully imposed over the weekend, which were backed
by China and Russia.
Amid
heightened tensions in the region, Beijing staged 'large-scale'
military exercises with dozens of ships, fighter jets and submarines
adjacent to the Korean Peninsula on Monday - just months after moving
150,000 troops to its border with North Korea.
Russia,
meanwhile, moved military equipment including helicopters and combat
vehicles to its southern frontier with the hermit state earlier this
year. Moscow has displayed its own frightening military strength at a
war games event in Siberia this week and during a vast Navy Day
parade in Vladivostok - about 100 miles from North Korean territory.
Guam, which is known as the 'Tip of the Spear', is home to thousands of American service members and their families at both Andersen Air Force Base and Naval Base Guam
North Korea said it is 'carefully examining' a plan to strike the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam with missiles. The strike plan will be 'put into practice in a multi-current and consecutive way any moment' once leader Kim Jong Un (file above) makes a decision
That announcement came just hours after President Donald Trump (above on Tuesday) delivered his fiercest warning yet to North Korea Tuesday afternoon
Kim,
who boasts that his intercontinental rockets can reach the west coast
of America, has warned the US that it would 'pay dearly' for UN
sanctions it successfully imposed over the weekend, which were backed
by China and Russia. The Russian President Vladimir Putin is pictured
with fighter Vyacheslav Vasilevsky at the International Sambo
Tournament In Sochi today
US
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson addressed the escalating tensions
this morning, saying 'I do not believe that there is any imminent
threat' from North Korea, and 'Americans should sleep well at night'
Kim
Jong-un has angered the international community by test firing
missiles into the sea between North Korea and Japan in recent weeks.
Last year, the 33-year-old tyrant ordered the country's fifth nuclear
test amid fears he has an arsenal of 60 bombs and has produced a
miniaturized warhead for his missiles.
Rows of men wearing North Korean badges held their fists in the air as they gathered for the rally in Pyongyang today
The
isolated, Stalinist state often speaks of turning the capital of
neighbour South Korea into a 'sea of fire' and frequently warns of
'merciless' and unprecedented attacks on its enemies, including
nuclear strikes on the United States.
But
Trump has responded with his own threats and told reporters on
Tuesday: 'North Korea best not make any more threats to the United
States.'
His
tweets today read: 'My first order as President was to renovate and
modernize our nuclear arsenal. It is now far stronger and more
powerful than ever before....
'...Hopefully
we will never have to use this power, but there will never be a time
that we are not the most powerful nation in the world!'
In
June, Trump sent the giant aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson and the
USS Ronald Reagan to the Korean peninsula in a dramatic show of force
with officials reiterating America's 'ironclad commitment' to
protecting allies in South Korea in Japan. This was followed by a
successful test of America's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
(THAAD) system in Alaska two weeks ago.
Last
night pictures emerged showing supersonic B-1B bombers flying out
from Guam Air Force base. North Korea said the exercise 'proves that
the U.S. imperialists are nuclear war maniacs
Preparations: Russia carried out its own display of military strength this week during the International Army Games held in Siberia. A solders from Uzbekistan - one of the many countries invited to take part - is pictured in action
Build up: Earlier this year, Putin moved tanks, helicopters and other combat vehicles to Russia's border with North Korea
During
a ten-hour mission on Monday, the aircraft flew from Guam's Andersen
Air Force Base towards Kyushu, Japan, the East China Sea, and the
Korean peninsula.
North
Korea said the exercise 'proves that the U.S. imperialists are
nuclear war maniacs' while officials in Guam say they have been
reassured by the White House that 'America will be defended.'
But
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson - who is on a plane to Guam -
addressed the escalating tensions this morning, saying 'I do not
believe that there is any imminent threat' from North Korea, and
'Americans should sleep well at night'.
The
bomber mission was the first for the aircraft and crews recently
deployed from South Dakota's Ellsworth Air Force Base to support U.S.
Pacific Command's Continuous Bomber Presence missions, Pacific Air
Forces Public Affairs stated.
'How
we train is how we fight and the more we interface with our allies,
the better prepared we are to fight tonight,' one of the pilots with
the 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron B-1 said.
The
crews practiced intercept and formation training, which gave them an
opportunity to improve their combined capabilities and tactical
skills.
'These
flights with Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) demonstrate
solidarity between Japan, ROK and the U.S. to defend against
provocative and destabilizing actions in the Pacific theater,'
according to a release from the Air Force.
Germany
this morning urged North Korea and the United States to show
'restraint' following their mounting war of words.
'We
are watching the increasing rhetorical escalation regarding the
Korean Peninsula with the greatest concern,' foreign ministry
spokesman Martin Schaefer told reporters. 'That is why we call on all
sides to use restraint.'
Schaefer
said Berlin was convinced a 'military option' could not be 'the
answer in the quest for a nuclear weapon-free Southeast Asia'.
He
urged the international community to 'thoroughly implement' the
latest round of sanctions against North Korea approved by the United
Nations Security Council.
And
he backed a call by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to resume
talks with Pyongyang if it halts ballistic missile tests.
'We
must all continue our diplomatic efforts - it is the only way to
ensure that the threat of the illegal North Korean nuclear weapons
programme can be contained,' he said.
Calling
the situation on the Korean Peninsula 'complicated and sensitive',
China's foreign ministry issued a statement warning that parties
involved in the impasse should avoid 'words and actions that escalate
the situation'.
The
European Union said tensions over North Korea can only be resolved by
peaceful means with foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini's
spokeswoman saying the developments are 'of great concern to the
EU.'
The
U.S. released photos of its bomber training mission late on Tuesday -
seemingly in response to North Korea's threat to strike Guam.
A
spokesman for the Korean People's Army, in a statement carried by the
North's state-run KCNA news agency, had said that its strike plan
will be 'put into practice in a multi-current and consecutive way any
moment' once leader Kim Jong Un makes a decision.
The
remote island of Guam - a 210-square-mile dot 2,128 miles from North
Korea in the Pacific - is a key US military outpost and home to some
6,000 US troops spread across facilities including the sprawling
Anderson Air Force Base, as well as Naval Base Guam.
Roughly
28 per cent of the island is occupied by the U.S. military. The
base houses bomber assurance and deterrence missions, including six
B-52s which the air force says provide 'strategic global strike
capability [to] deter potential adversaries and provide reassurance
to allies' and that they are ready to go.
Rsidents
of the island expressed concern over North Korea's threat.
'The
threat is pretty scary,' Graceful Fiden, 28, of Tumon, Guam told USA
Today.
'It's going on further, so we should worry about it. I believe in the
military on Guam, together with the U.S.'
Guam
Homeland Security and Civil Defense office issued a statement
Wednesday morning saying they are working with military officials to
'continue to monitor the recent events surrounding North Korean and
their threatening actions.'
'As
of this morning, we have not changed our stance in confidence that
the U.S. Department of Defense is monitoring this situation very
closely and is maintaining a condition of readiness, daily,' stated
George Charfauros, Homeland Security adviser
'We
will continue to keep the public updated on any changes or requests
for action. For now, we advise the community to remain calm, remember
that there are defenses in place for threats such as North Korea and
to continue to remain prepared for all hazards.'
The
release stated that there is no imminent threat to the safety of
Guam's 160,000 residents and visitors of Guam and the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).
In
addition, Gov. Eddie Calvo said he had spoken to Joint Region
Marianas Cmdr. Rear Admiral Shoshana Chatfield, who confirmed there
was no immediate threat to Guam.
'My
Homeland Security Advisor who is in communications with Homeland
Security and Department of Defense notes that there is no change in
threat level resulting from North Korea events,' Calvo said in a
statement.
'Additionally,
I have reached out to the White House this morning,' Calvo said.
Naval Base Guam (file above) is located on the southwest side of the island. About one-third of the 210-square-mile island is occupied by the
'An
attack or threat to Guam is a threat or attack on the United States.
They have said that America will be defended.'
Earlier
Tuesday, in another statement citing a different military spokesman,
North Korea also said it could carry out a pre-emptive operation if
the U.S. showed signs of provocation.
Earlier
Pyongyang said it was ready to give Washington a 'severe lesson' with
its strategic nuclear force in response to any U.S. military action.
The
statement from the North comes after Trump told the country's
leader Tuesday that additional threats of violence against the
U.S. 'will be met with fire and the fury like the world has never
seen.'
'He
has been very threatening beyond a normal state, and as I said they
will be met with the fire and fury and frankly power, the likes of
which this world has never seen before,' Trump added in remarks at
the top of an unrelated meeting.
He
stopped just short of a firm promise to declare war on Kim's
government if the dictatorship continues to talk about 'physical
action' to the U.S.
'North
Korea best not make any more threats to the United States,' Trump
cautioned after a reporter asked him about the nuclear standoff.
Trump
told the world Tuesday morning that it must be vigilant against North
Korea in the face of new threats from the country's young dictator.
Kim
had warned the United States that it would pay 'pay dearly' for the
United Nations sanctions regime it successfully imposed over the
weekend and hinted at military action as tensions continued to
escalate.
While
it is extremely unlikely that Pyongyang would risk the assured
annihilation of its revered leadership with a pre-emptive attack on
U.S. citizens, some residents are concerned.
'If
anything happens, we all got to be ready, be prepared, and pray to
God that it doesn't happen,' Daisy Mendiola, 56, said after finishing
lunch with her family at a restaurant near Hagatna. 'Everyone's
afraid, because we're dealing with powers that's beyond us.'
Other
residents are worried about the political atmosphere and the
government's ability to find a peaceful solution.
Todd
Thompson, a lawyer who lives on Guam, said he laughed off past
threats because he 'figured cooler heads in Washington would prevail,
and it was just an idle threat.'
'But
I have to say, I'm not laughing now,' Thompson said. 'My concern is
that things have changed in Washington, and who knows what's going to
happen?'
His
brother Mitch Thompson, who also lives on Guam, added he believes 'a
lot of people have no confidence that the White House will do the
right thing under the circumstances.'
Guam
is about 2,100 miles southeast of Pyongyang and 3,800 miles west of
Honolulu in the Pacific Ocean. For years, North Korea has claimed
Guam is within its missiles' striking distance, making furious
statements each time when the U.S. flew powerful bombers from the
island's air base to the Korean Peninsula.
In
August last year, the North's Foreign Ministry warned that all U.S.
military bases in the Pacific including Guam would 'face ruin in the
face of all-out and substantial attack' by the North's military. In
the spring of 2013, state media cited leader Kim Jong Un as having
ordered his military to prepare plans on launching strikes on U.S.
military bases in Guam, Hawaii and South Korea as well as the
American mainland.
Guam
is armed with the U.S. Army's defense system known as Terminal High
Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, which can intercept missiles.
Similar
threats in 2013 led Guam's U.S. Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo
to advocate for the THAAD system, she said in a statement Wednesday.
'North
Korea's most recent threat to target Guam is dangerous and it further
heightens tensions in our region,' Bordallo said. 'While we have
heard threats like this in the past, I take them very seriously.'
Guam's
Homeland Security Adviser George Charfauros urged calm and said
defenses are in place for such threats.
'Physical
action will be taken mercilessly with the mobilization of all its
national strength,' North Korea's state-run news agency said Tuesday.
The
33-year-old Kim was lashing out at a U.S. push to drain him of the
hard currency he needs to develop his nuclear program
that Russia and China reluctantly
signed on to last weekend.
The
sanctions put a hard stop to a third of North Korea's export revenue
- a deafening blow to the country's economy.
Trump
celebrated the universal participation of Security Council countries
in the sanctions with a tweet this morning that said, 'After many
years of failure,countries are coming together to finally address the
dangers posed by North Korea. We must be tough & decisive!'
A
Washington Post report on Tuesday suggested that North Korea had
invented a miniaturized warhead that it has the capability of
attaching to the intercontinental ballistic missiles its been
testing.
The
development brings the country dangerously close to its goal of
creating of a nuclear weapon that can hit targets in the U.S.
Alaska,
Hawaii and California would be at an especially high risk if Kim's
scientists finish the weapons and North Korea decides to use them.
Sen.
Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said on Tuesday that he is seriously worried
about a possible North Korean missile strike on his state as well as
the rest of the United States.
'There's
concern, but there's also pride,' Sullivan said on Fox News's 'The
Story' Tuesday. 'Alaska is the cornerstone of our nation's missile
defense.'
He
added that Alaska's missile defense battalion 'is literally
protecting the country.'
'The
Alaska guard unit there calls themselves the 300, protecting the 300
million,' Sullivan said. 'So that's what they're doing now,
protecting us.'
According
to the report, US officials estimate that Kim now has 60 nuclear
weapons in his possession.
By
comparison, the US is estimated to have more than 6,800 in its
stockpile, and Russia is thought to have 7,000.
Former
President Barack Obama's aide Dan Pfeiffer went after Trump's warning
to North Korea on Tuesday. Pfeiffer tweeted, 'Don't gloss over the
fact that Trump threatened what can only be interpreted as a nuclear
attack on North Korea if Kim Jong Un taunts him.'
+40
North Korean leader Kim
Jong-Un, 33, first warned that the United States would 'pay dearly'
for the United Nations sanctions regime it successfully imposed over
the weekend and hinted at 'physical action' as tensions continued to
escalate
Shortly after Trump's morning
message Tuesday, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki
Haley appeared on Fox & Friends to deliver tough talk to North
Korea and take a victory lap on sanctions.
'The United States will respond
accordingly, and I think the international community will respond
accordingly,' she said of the dangerous actions that Kim could take
in response to the punishing actions.
It's up to North Korean leader to
decide whether his response is, 'OK the international community is
telling me to stop or he is going to have, you know, a temper
tantrum,' she'd said.
Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy
worried that Kim is rejecting the international mandate. 'It sounds
like, we are getting closer to a shootin' war,' he told Haley.
'But we don't run scared,' Haley
asserted. 'This had to happen, we had to go after his hard currency,
we had to stop it.'
'How he responds? He's now going
to have to think what's the end game? Is he really going to come
after the United States knowing what the United States can do back?
He's gotta make that calculation,' the high-ranking U.S. diplomat
assessed.
Former
President Barack Obama's aide Dan Pfeiffer went after Trump's warning
to North Korea on Tuesday.
Pfeiffer
tweeted, 'Don't gloss over the fact that Trump threatened what can
only be interpreted as a nuclear attack on North Korea if Kim Jong Un
taunts him.'
On
Monday, North Korea promised to 'teach the US a severe lesson' if it
puts its military might to the test on the Korean Peninsula.
'We
will, under no circumstances, put the nukes and ballistic rockets on
the negotiating table,' North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho
said, effectively declining to engage in talks about the nuclear
program.
State-run
KCNA news agency meanwhile claimed that North Korea 'will make the US
pay dearly for all the heinous crimes it commits against the state
and people of this country.'
KCNA
cautioned the U.S. against 'believing that its land is safe across
the ocean' in what it described as a 'stern warning to the US.'
Tuesday
it slapped the U.S. again, saying in a statement that appeared in the
New York Times: 'Packs of wolves are coming in attack to strangle a
nation...They should be mindful that the D.P.R.K.'s strategic steps
accompanied by physical action will be taken mercilessly with the
mobilization of all its national strength.'
Kim
is fuming over a United Nations Security Council resolution that will
cut a billion out of his $3 billion economy annually. The resolution
bans North Korea exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and
seafood and blocks off other cash-rich avenues, including joint
ventures.
+40
Shortly
after the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley
appeared on Fox & Friends Tuesday to deliver to more tough talk
to North Korea
The
U.S. pushed the resolution through the Security Council on Saturday
with the aid of Russia and China, North Korea's largest trading
partner.
'Yes,
China and Russia were not the easiest, but at the end of the day they
came through, and that's all that matters,' Haley said this morning
on Fox & Friends of the vote to put heavy penalties on North
Korea over its continued nuclear tests.
China
favors deconfliction with North Korea and denuclearization of the
Korean peninsula but not the displacement of Kim. Beijing is
concerned that a coup would put the country's stockpile of weapons in
nefarious hands.
It
joined the U.S. and 13 other nations that sit on the Security Council
in approving new sanctions on North Korea, a nation with whom it
shares a border, after Washington threatened to restrict access to
its financial institutions last week.
North
Korea's ramped up missile tests since Trump took office has the
United States pursuing aggressive measures in the region, including
Chinese sanctions.
Military
action remains on the table, as well, sparking fears internationally
that the conflict will result in war.
The
Trump administration's attempts to pressure North Korea into
abandoning its nuclear and missile ambitions have so far gained
little traction.
U.S.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has warned of an 'effective and
overwhelming' response against North Korea if it chose to use nuclear
weapons but has said any military solution would be 'tragic on an
unbelievable scale.'
The
United States has 28,500 troops in South Korea to guard against the
North Korean threat. Japan hosts around 54,000 U.S. military
personnel, the U.S. Department of Defense says, and tens of thousands
of Americans work in both countries.
Seoul
is home to a population of roughly 10 million, within range of massed
pre-targeted North Korean rockets and artillery, which would be
impossible to destroy in a first U.S. strike.
A
rising number of Republicans - 48 percent - want Trump to go that
route. That's a jump from 37 percent in an April CBS News poll.
A
majority of Americans are fearful that Trump is not equipped to go to
battle with Kim, though. In the CBS survey, 61 percent of voters
expressed doubts.
Nearly
seven in 10 Americans think Kim is using the nuclear program to gain
power and influence.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.