US President Donald Trump has warned North Korea that
"if it escalates nuclear threat, it will be met with fire and fury like
the world has never seen", the US media has said. A tough response from
him was expected after it was revealed earlier in the day that North Korea had
produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that could be fitted inside its
missiles. The revelation was based on the assessment of the US intelligence
agencies.
Terming Trump's threat extraordinary, a CNN report quoted
him as saying, "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. They
will be met with fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which the world has
never seen."
On Monday, North Korea 'vowed' to teach US a severe lesson.
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said if the US used military force,
North Korea would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons.
HARSHER SANCTIONS
Earlier, on Saturday, the United Nations Security Council
slapped even harsher sanctions on North Korea, in an aim to reduce its exports
by one-third.
Hitting back, North Korea said "it would make the US
pay dearly for all the heinous crimes it commits against the state and people
of this country."
Experts are divided on whether imposing more sanctions on
North Korea will be of any help - because even though China, its biggest
trading partner, has announced to support the sanctions, its track record says
it has never implemented such international agreements in past and they merely
remained on paper.
NUCLEAR PROGRAMME
North Korea has been rapidly revving up its nuclear and
missile programme after it successfully test fired its first inter-continental
ballistic missile last month which according to experts was a new type unlike
the previous North Korean missile tests and with a range of over 8,000 km. Such
a missile can easily reach the American mainland.
North Korea's ICBM had left the major world powers divided.
A Russia-China joint statement was soft and put the onus of North Korea's
missile launch on annual US-South Korea military drills in the region and the
deployment of the US anti-ballistic missile defence system THAAD in South
Korea.
Trump, who had said earlier he would not allow North Korea
to have an ICBM, had reacted strongly. He then said the US was drawing plans
for its "pretty severe" response.
The US, with South Korea, held a military drill in response
to North Korea's ICBM and the US allies held an emergency UN Security Council
meeting where the US' UN Ambassador Nikki Haley asserted that the US could use
"considerable military forces" if situation demanded.
©SantoshChaubey
