White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said Thursday that Americans should be concerned about North Korea’s ability to reach the United States with an intercontinental ballistic missile, cryptically telling reporters that if the threat grows “beyond where it is today, well, let’s hope that diplomacy works.”
Trump has mocked North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, labeling him “little Rocket Man” and promising “fire and fury” if the country continues to threaten the United States.
Most recently, North Korea’s foreign minister said the President has “lit the wick” of war with his rhetoric, according to a Russian state news agency.
Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general, told reporters Thursday that North Korea is a pariah that cannot be allowed to threaten the United States.
“The American people should be concerned about a state that has developed a pretty good ICBM capability and is developing a pretty good nuclear re-entry vehicle,” Kelly said in his first White House press briefing since joining the administration earlier this year. “I would believe, I think I speak for the administration, that that state simply cannot have the ability to reach the homeland.
