US Navy SEALs training South Korean ‘assassination’ squad to take out Kim: Report

US Navy SEALs who purportedly killed al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden will train South Korean commanders to take out North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the event of war, according the Times of London.

The report comes amid rising tensions between North Korea and the United States following Pyongyang's test of a hydrogen bomb which could be fitted onto an intercontinental ballistic missile.

"We are in the process of conceptualizing the plan," South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo told MPs, according to the Times. "I believe we can create the unit by Dec. 1."

The US has also decided to waive restrictions on the size and range of South Korean ballistic missiles, allowing it to develop and drop bunker-busting bombs on the underground headquarters of the North Korean leadership in Pyongyang.

President Donald Trump told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this weekend that the US is ready to use the “full range” of capabilities, including nuclear arsenal, at its disposal in dealing with North Korea.

Trump intensified his rhetoric against North Korea last month, saying a military option against North Korea is "locked and loaded." In his earlier remarks, he warned that North Korea would face “fire and fury” should it continue to threaten the United States.  

In response of Trump’s dire warnings, North Korea said it was "carefully examining" a plan to strike the American Pacific territory of Guam with missiles.

The North Korean military said it could carry out a pre-emptive strike if there were signs of an American provocation.

North Korea on Sunday announced it had conducted a “successful” hydrogen bomb test, hours after two tremors were detected in the country.

“The hydrogen bomb test was a perfect success,” North Korean state television said, adding that the device was capable of being loaded onto long-range missiles.

PressTV-US ready to nuke North Korea: White House

The US is ready to use its nuclear weapons against North Korea if the country continues to threaten Washington or its allies, the White House has warned.

The North Korean broadcaster said the nuclear test had an “unprecedentedly large power,” and that it “marked a very significant occasion in attaining the final goal of completing the state nuclear force.”

The North Korean nuclear test came three days after two nuclear-capable US B-1B strategic bombers conducted a military drill alongside four F-35Bs and a few Japanese F-15s. 

The US is against North Korea’s nuclear weapons but Pyongyang says it will not give up on its nuclear deterrence unless Washington ends its hostile policy toward the country and dissolves the US-led UN command in South Korea. Thousands of US soldiers are stationed in South Korea and Japan.

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