Trump: US 'Could' Have War with North Korea
In a new propaganda video that looks like a low-budget 1960s action movie, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is seen reviewing more military maneuvers. The regime's U.N. Mission says the government will react to "a total war" with the United States with a nuclear war.
President Trump told Reuters news agency that indeed there could be a war.
"There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea. Absolutely," Trump said.
Friday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson went to the United Nations Security Council to call for new sanctions against the regime.
"Failing to act now on the most pressing security issue in the world may bring catastrophic consequences," he said.
Tillerson even mentioned the possibility of "military action if necessary."
Meanwhile, China's foreign ministry has refused to confirm or deny Tillerson's new claim that Beijing has threatened to impose more sanctions on North Korea if it conducts further nuclear tests.
China is North Korea's largest trading partner and its main source of food and fuel.
Tillerson said, "We've put in place a very deliberate strategy, which we are just in the early stages of executing and it is one that does involve bringing significant pressure to bear on the regime in Pyongyang. It also involves calling on China to play a role in how we deal with this threat."
Tillerson will speak on the showdown with North Korea when he chairs a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council today.
At a Senate hearing, the senior U.S. Navy officer overseeing military operations in the Pacific, Admiral Harry Harris, said the crisis with North Korea's Kim Jong-Un is at the worst point he's ever seen.
Arizona Sen. John McCain asked Harris if "it's clear that his goal is a nuclear weapon and the means to deliver it to the United States of America. Is there any doubt in your mind?"
The Commander of US Pacific Command replied, "There is no doubt in my mind, chairman."
Secretary of State Tillerson says the U.S. is not seeking regime change in North Korea but wants "a full denuclearization of the Korean peninsula."
