WAR OF WORDS ESCALATING: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears to be ignoring both the carrot and the stick, as the effort of the U.S. and its allies to resolve the growing crisis with Pyongyang continues to defy all diplomatic initiatives to avoid a second Korean war over the North’s threat to strike the U.S. with a nuclear-tipped ICBM.
In the face of tough new U.N.-imposed sanctions passed Saturday, North Korea’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ri Yong-ho, taking a defiant tone, insisted that “under no circumstances” will the North negotiate away its nuclear missile program. In a speech to the media, Ri also said his country has no intention of using nuclear weapons against any country, “except the U.S.” He warned, North Korea is “ready to teach the U.S. a severe lesson with its nuclear strategic force.” The statements followed a 15-0 U.N. Security Council vote to impose new economic sanctions on North Korea following its two recent intercontinental ballistic missile tests with the range to hit the U.S. The sanctions could reduce North Korea’s annual export revenue by $1 billion – a one-third cut. “Very big financial impact!” President Trump tweeted over the weekend.
