President Trump on Friday warned North Korea that the U.S. military is “locked and loaded” if it decides to attack Guam or another part of the country.
“Military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!” Trump tweeted Friday morning.
Military solutions are now fully in place,locked and loaded,should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 11, 2017
North Korea has outlined a plan to simultaneously launch four ballistic missiles toward Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean that is home to a major military base.
Officials in the regime say the plan is to have the missiles hit the water from 19 to 25 miles away from Guam, and that the proposal is expected to be presented to leader Kim Jong Un for his approval or rejection within a week.
Details of the threat came a day after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson assured Guam’s 7,000 U.S. military personnel and 160,000 residents there is no real threat from North Korea despite its behavior.
“Americans should sleep well at night,” Tillerson told reporters while traveling to Guam on Wednesday. “Nothing that I have seen and nothing that I know of would indicate that the situation has dramatically changed in the last 24 hours.”
This week, Trump warned North Korea it would face “fire and fury” if it prompted the U.S. to respond with military action.
“I think what the president was doing is sending a strong message to North Korea in language that Kim Jong Un would understand, because he doesn’t seem to understand diplomatic language,” Tillerson said Wednesday. “I think it was important that he deliver that message to avoid any miscalculation on their part.”
Government officials in Pyongyang were recently dealt new sanctions over the weekend by the U.N. Security Council’s 15-member nations.
