The tension between the United States and North Korea has been escalating ever since North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un has said that his country can now strike any target in the United States after carrying out its latest ICBM test.
The latest nuclear missile test by North Korea on 28th July has put almost all of US under their missile range. US defence experts have also confirmed that the latest tested missile was capable of reaching the US west coast and beyond. (ibtimes.co.uk)
Earlier in his New Year's speech, the North Korean dictator had threatened Trump that his country was on the verge of developing a long-range ICBM capable of hitting the US mainland. Trump had then tweeted: "It won't happen". (ibtimes.co.uk)
Amid heightened tensions after Pyongyang tested another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that North Korea is not their enemy but they are presenting an unacceptable threat to the US to which the United States will have to respond.(ibtimes.co.uk)
He also added that the United States does not seek a regime change in North Korea and wants to work with China to prevent the reclusive country from acquiring nuclear weapons. (rediff.com)
While Tillerson took the road of diplomacy, a Republican Senator took to being extremely direct and revealed that US President Donald Trump is ready for a war with the hermit kingdom. (ibtimes.co.uk)
"If there's going to be a war to stop [North Korea], it will be over there. If thousands die, they're going to die over there. They're not going to die here. And he [Mr Trump] has told me that to my face," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said of his conversations with the president in a recent interview with NBC's Today programme. (ibtimes.co.uk)
The china angle
China has a special relation with North Korea and is the country's largest trade partner. This economic interdependence between the two countries the power to influence each other.
Infuriated by the recent claims, Trump reportedly criticised China for not doing enough to contain North Korean threats. He had earlier praised Chinese President Xi Jinping for doing his best in dealing with the situation but changed his version lately. In response, Beijing warned the US against issuing such remarks. (ibtimes.co.uk)
Trump had also been threatening to impose secondary sanctions on Chinese firms doing business with the reclusive state. The US was reported to be putting pressure on India too to cut diplomatic and trade ties with the country. However, India replied saying they have already scaled back trade relations with North Korea except for medicines and food. (ibtimes.co.uk)
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters during her daily news conference that she said the US President Donald Trump has been very outspoken about the need to stop North Korea and is keeping all the options on the table.
Pentagon stated that US reacted to the nuclear missile test and within hours of the North Korean ICBM launch, American and South Korean army personnel conducted a combined live fire exercise. (thestatesman.com)