TIL Desk/World/Pyongyang/ North Korea’s vice foreign minister today blamed President Donald Trump for building up a “vicious cycle” of tensions on the Korean Peninsula, saying that his “aggressive” tweets were “making trouble.” In an exclusive interview, Vice Minister Han Song Ryol also said Pyongyang won’t “keep its arms crossed” in the face of a pre-emptive strike by the US.
“If the US comes with reckless military maneuvers then we will confront it with the DPRK’s pre-emptive strike,” Han said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “We’ve got a powerful nuclear deterrent already in our hands, and we certainly will not keep our arms crossed in the face of a US pre-emptive strike.”
Tensions are deepening as the US has sent an aircraft carrier to waters off the peninsula and is conducting its biggest-ever joint military exercises with South Korea. Pyongyang, meanwhile, recently launched a ballistic missile and some experts say it could conduct another nuclear test at virtually anytime. Many North Korea watchers believe North Korea could have a viable nuclear warhead and a ballistic missile capable of hitting the US mainland on Trump’s watch as president – within the next few years.
