The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump on Friday turned up the heat on North Korea, warning Pyongyang that the US military is “locked and loaded” in the event of a misstep by the totalitarian state, despite mounting international calls for restraint.
Trump launched another salvo at the regime of Kim Jong-Un to keep its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs in check, as the North’s official news agency accused the US of driving the situation “to the brink” of war.
The latest Twitter threat from the Republican billionaire leader came as concerns swelled worldwide that a miscalculation by either side could trigger a catastrophic conflict on the Korean peninsula.
Military solutions are now fully in place,locked and loaded,should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 11, 2017
“Military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!” Trump wrote from his golf club retreat in New Jersey, where he is spending two weeks.
The official KCNA news service countered in an editorial that “Trump is driving the situation on the Korean peninsula to the brink of a nuclear war,” calling the US “the mastermind of nuclear threat, the heinous nuclear war fanatic.”
Earlier Friday in Beijing, China — Pyongyang’s main diplomatic ally — had urged Trump and Kim to tone down the saber-rattling.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang called on both sides to avoid “going down the old path of alternately showing strength and continuously escalating the situation.”
“We call on the relevant parties to be cautious with their words and actions, and contribute more toward easing tensions and enhancing mutual trust,” Geng said in a statement.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was “very alarmed” at Trump’s tough talk, saying Washington should take the first step toward cooling tensions.
“When a fight has nearly broken out, the first step away from the dangerous threshold should be taken by the side that is stronger and smarter,” Lavrov said.
