President Donald Trump followed up his incendiary warning to North Korea against threatening the United States with a boast on Wednesday about the strength of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, but expressed hope this power would never need to be used.
Trump's message came after North Korea said it was considering plans for a missile strike on Guam. Which was North Korea’s “tit for tat” warning following Trump's unexpected remarks on Tuesday that any North Korean threat to the United States would be met with "fire and fury."
"My first order as President was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal. It is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before," Trump tweeted. "Hopefully we will never have to use this power, but there will never be a time that we are not the most powerful nation in the world!"
Defense Secretary James Mattis also warned North Korea in stark terms on Wednesday that it faces devastation if it does not end its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
"The DPRK must choose to stop isolating itself and stand down its pursuit of nuclear weapons," Mattis said. "The DPRK should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people."
President Donald Trump, however, faced criticism from lawmakers after Trump’s warning that "North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. He has been very threatening -- beyond a normal statement -- and as I said, they will be met with fire, fury and, frankly, power the likes of which the world has never seen before."
Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain said, "I take exception to the President's comments because you've got to be sure that you can do what you say you're going to do. The great leaders I've seen don't threaten unless they're ready to act and I'm not sure President Trump is ready to act."
Senator Bernie Sanders said, “President Trump’s bombastic rhetoric is not appropriate when we are dealing with the possibility of a nuclear war that could kill millions of people. North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons and missile capability is an enormously serious issue and we need serious people at the State Department dealing with it. Our job now is to work with China and our allies in the region and around the world on a comprehensive diplomatic strategy to address this problem.”
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Korean People's Army soldiers
marching through Kim Il-Sung square
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By Grace Garces Bordallo And Cathy Bussewitz
