WASHINGTON, August 10. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump has refused to comment on the possibility of Washington's preventive strike against North Korea in the wake of Pyongyang’s threats.
"We don’t talk about that. We never do," he told reporters answering a question on the issue at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he is spending his working vacation.
Trump has also warned North Korea of serious consequences in case Pyongyang attacked Washington or its allies.
"If North Korea does anything in terms of even thinking about attack of anybody that we love or we represent or our allies or us, they should be very, very nervous," he said. "I'll tell you what. And they should be very nervous. Because things will happen to them like they never thought possible."
"The people of our country are safe. Our allies are safe. And I will tell you this: North Korea better get their act together or they're going to be in trouble like few nations ever have been in trouble in this world," the US president pointed out.
On Tuesday, Trump told reporters that North Korea should stop threatening the United States, otherwise Washington will answer with "fire and fury the likes of which the world has never seen." North Korea’s Central News Agency (KCNA) later reported that Pyongyang was "carefully examining" plans for a missile strike on the Andersen Air Force Base located on the US Pacific territory of Guam.
Tensions around the Korean Peninsula started to rise in light of the implementation of the North Korean missile program. In July, Pyongyang conducted two ballistic missile tests which provoked a sharp response from the United States, Japan and South Korea. Washington has been repeatedly stating that no option including the use of military force could be ruled out.
On August 5, the United Nations Security Council unanimously voted for resolution 2371 to have tightened sanctions against North Korea in retaliation for the July missile tests. The resolution imposes a ban on North Korea’s export of a number of minerals and products, such as coal, iron, lead and sea foods. It imposes other restrictions, too, including targeted measures against individuals and enterprises related with Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.