TOKYO: President Donald Trump on Sunday (Nov 5) issued a stern warning that “no dictator” should underestimate the United States as he kicked off an Asian tour dominated by the North Korea nuclear crisis. Speaking to cheering military personnel at Yokota Air Base just west of Tokyo minutes after landing,
TOKYO: President Donald Trump on Sunday (Nov 5) issued a stern warning that “no dictator” should underestimate the United States as he kicked off an Asian tour dominated by the North Korea nuclear crisis.
Speaking to cheering military personnel at Yokota Air Base just west of Tokyo minutes after landing, Trump donned a bomber jacket and said “no one, no dictator, no regime and no nation should underestimate… American resolve”.
“Every once in a while in the past, they underestimated us. It was not pleasant for them, was it?” roared Trump.
“We will never yield, never waver and never falter in defence of our people, our freedom and our great American flag.”
Trump’s marathon trip comes with the North Korea crisis at fever pitch, as US bombers fly sorties over the Korean peninsula and fears mount of another Pyongyang missile test.
According to the Washington Post, Pentagon officials have warned that the only way to locate and secure North Korea’s nuclear weapons sites would be via a ground invasion.
North Korea itself welcomed Trump to the region with a rhetorical volley via the ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun, warning a “spiritually instable” president against making “reckless remarks”.
NORTH KOREANS ‘GREAT PEOPLE’
The president’s first stops are Japan and South Korea – frontline US allies in the effort to force Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear programme, and the two countries with most to fear should a full-scale conflict break out.
Trump touched down under clear blue Tokyo skies and stepped out with his wife Melania in bright sunshine to greet the crowds.
Speaking to reporters on the plane, he announced he would likely be meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin during the tour, as the international community scrambles for a solution to the North Korean crisis.
