The Latest on President Donald Trump and North Korea (all times EDT) :
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on President Donald Trump and North Korea (all times EDT) :
5 p.m.
The United Nations says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is « troubled » by the escalating rhetoric from all sides in the North Korea nuclear dispute.
U. N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric says Guterres « welcomes all initiatives that will help de-escalate the tensions and a return to diplomacy. »
Asked Thursday whether the secretary-general could be a mediator, Dujarric says, « He is always willing to do so. »
The U. N. in the past has had an envoy for North Korea, but Dujarric says « every situation is different and it’s important not to make empty gestures. »
Dujarric says Guterres welcomed the U. N. Security Council’s adoption last Saturday of a resolution imposing new sanctions on North Korea, including banning any coal, iron lead and seafood exports, and is urging all U. N. member states to implement it.
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4: 50 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he’s planning to add billions of dollars to the nation’s anti-missile programs.
Trump tells reporters after a security briefing at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, « We are going to be increasing our budget by many billions of dollars. »
He says an announcement is planned soon.
Trump also says the nation’s nuclear arsenal is in « in tip-top shape » and getting stronger. And he insists his administration has « done a lot of modernization » and « a lot of renovation » already.
Trump is also warning about the dangers of nuclear weapons, saying he’d like to « de-nuke the world. » But he says that, until that happens, the U. S. « will be the most powerful nuclear nation on earth, by far. »
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2: 35 p.m.
President Donald Trump says that perhaps his ‘fire and fury’ warning to North Korea « wasn’t tough enough. » Trump is issuing a new warning over the North’s development of nuclear weapons.
Trump says North Korea « better get their act together or they are going to be in trouble like few nations have ever been in trouble. »
The president was addressing reporters during his vacation at his New Jersey golf club before a security briefing with top advisers.
It’s the latest warning since he said earlier this week that North Korea faces « retaliation with fire and fury unlike any the world has seen before. »
North Korea has said it may attack Guam in retaliation.
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4: 32 a.m.
North Korea has announced a detailed plan to launch a salvo of ballistic missiles toward the U. S. Pacific territory of Guam, a major military hub and home to U. S. bombers, a move that if carried out would be its most provocative missile launch to date.
The announcement Thursday warned that the North is preparing a plan to fire four of its Hwasong-12 missiles over Japan and into waters around the tiny island, which hosts 7,000 U. S. military personnel on two main bases and has a population of 160,000.
Japan and South Korea vowed a strong reaction if the North were to go through with the plan.
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