US President Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that Washington was prepared to
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump warned on Tuesday (Apr 11) that Washington was prepared to »solve the problem » of North Korea on its own if necessary as he and Pyongyang engaged in tit-for-tat saber-rattling that sent tensions soaring in East Asia.
Trump’s warning came as a US naval strike group headed toward the Korean peninsula, a show of force that prompted the nuclear-armed North to declare it was »ready to react to any mode of war desired by the US. »
« This goes to prove that the US reckless moves for invading the DPRK have reached a serious phase, » a spokesman for the North’s foreign ministry said, according to state news agency KCNA.
The strike group – which includes the Nimitz-class aircraft supercarrier USS Carl Vinson – turned toward the Korean peninsula this weekend in response to what a top White House official called a »pattern of provocative behaviour. »
A barrage of recent North Korean missile tests have stoked US fears that Pyongyang may soon have an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the US mainland.
Speculation also has mounted that North Korea might conduct a nuclear test to mark the 105th birthday anniversary of founder Kim Il-Sung on Saturday.
US National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster said on Sunday that Trump has asked for »a full range of options to remove that threat. »
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the presence of a carrier strike group »gives the president options in the region. »
« I think when you see a carrier group steaming into an area like that, the forward presence of that is clearly… a huge deterrent, » he said.
In a pair of tweets on Tuesday, Trump doubled down on a vow to act unilaterally against Pyongyang if China fails to rein in its unpredictable ally.
