Trump says military action possible against North Korea
US President Donald Trump says he does not rule out military action against North Korea if the reclusive country carries out another nuclear weapons test.
In an interview with CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Saturday, Trump downplayed the significance of North Korea's "small missile launch," carried out the day before.
When pressed by the host whether he would consider the use of military force in response to a nuclear test, Trump said, "I don't know. I mean, we'll see."
The ballistic missile was launched from a location north of Pyongyang, but it blew up over land in North Korean territory, the US military said.
Trump cast the missile test as a direct snub to China, one of North Korea's only allies which administration officials say has been pressuring its neighbor to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
Trump said he "would not be happy" if North Korean leader Kim Jong-un conducted another weapons test, adding that Chinese President Xi Jinping would likely share that sentiment.
"If he does a nuclear test, I will not be happy. And I can tell you also I don't believe that the president of China, who is a very respected man, will be happy either."
Trump's comments came two days after he warned that a "major, major conflict" with North Korea was “absolutely” possible, though he said he would prefer to resolve the issue peacefully.
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The Trump administration has repeatedly said in recent weeks that all options are on the table, and has deployed a strike group and a nuclear-powered submarine to the region in a show of force.
The USS Carl Vinson strike group arrived in the region on Saturday, where it conducted a joint drill with the South Korean navy.
In testimony before a congressional panel on Wednesday, Admiral Harry Harris, the head of the US Pacific Command, said the standoff with North Korea was the worst he had seen.
The commander warned that the pace of the North’s missile tests indicated that Pyongyang would at some point be able to launch a nuclear ballistic missile at the US unless stopped by force.
North Korea has threatened the US with a nuclear attack in case of a direct military action, and has indicated that weapons tests would continue more frequently.
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