US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Americans should “sleep well at night” and the threat level of a nuclear attack from North Korea had not changed despite recent rhetoric from Pyongyang and Washington, Wednesday, whilst flying to the Pacific island of Guam.
US President Donald Trump promised yesterday that threats from North Korea would be met with “fire and fury.” Tillerson defended Trump’s controversial choice of words, saying “I think the President just wanted to be clear to the North Korean regime on the US’ unquestionable ability to defend itself.”
Tillerson went on to highlight that there is an ongoing diplomatic effort to reduce the threat from North Korea and “telephone lines remain open” between the US and Russia and China, as well as America’s allies.
Hours after Trump’s comments yesterday, North Korea’s state media KCNA warned of a strike on US military bases on Guam. Whilst a US intelligence agency claims Pyongyang has produced a militarised warhead, it is not believed the weapon has been tested yet.