US President Donald Trump has issued another provocative warning to North Korea, declaring that his threat to unleash “fire and fury” on the country was not “tough enough,” as tensions mount between the two nations over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile program.
Trump was speaking to reporters on Thursday ahead of a national security briefing at his private golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he is spending a two-week vacation.
“Frankly, the people who were questioning that statement, was it too tough? Maybe it wasn’t tough enough,” he said.
“They’ve been doing this to our country for a long time, for many years, and it’s about time that somebody stuck up for the people of this country and for the people of other countries. So if anything, maybe that statement wasn’t tough enough,” he added.
Trump warned Pyongyang not to threaten the island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean, a US territory with several military bases. North Korea responded to Trump’s “fire and fury” warning on Tuesday by threatening to launch a missile strike toward Guam.
“If he does something in Guam, it will be an event the likes of which nobody has seen before, what will happen in North Korea,” Trump said.
“He’s not going to go around threatening Guam and he’s not going to threaten the United States and he’s not going to threaten Japan, and he’s not going to threaten South Korea.”
Asked if the US is considering a preemptive strike, the president replied: “We don’t talk about that. I never do.”