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Trump responds to North Korea nuclear attack threat

Wednesday, 12 April 2017 1:53 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 15 April 2017 9:43 AM ]

US President Donald Trump speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House on April 10, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Reuters)

US President Donald Trump says North Korea is "looking for trouble" as Pyongyang threatens a nuclear attack on American soil.

Trump, who was making the remarks via his twitter account on Tuesday, also reiterated that "If China decides to help, that would be great…If not, we will solve the problem without them!."

He noted that a trade deal between Washington and Beijing would be better for them if they “solved the North Korea problem."

"We are sending an armada. Very powerful…We have submarines. Very powerful. Far more powerful than the aircraft carrier. That I can tell you,” added Trump during an interview with Fox News on Tuesday.

Trump also said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s actions were not correct and that he was not sure of his mental health as he did not “know him.”

Earlier in the day, North Korean state media announced that the country was “watching every move by enemy elements with our nuclear sight focused on the US invasionary bases not only in South Korea and the Pacific operation theater but also in the US mainland."

The threat was made after a US aircraft carrier-led strike group set course for the western Pacific Ocean close to the Korean peninsula amid growing fears over the North’s weapons tests on Saturday.

The strike group, dubbed Carl Vinson, will be operating in the Western Pacific until further notice instead of partaking in a series of previously planned Australian port visits.

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Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis asserted that the naval deployment was not related to any specific event and was but a matter of prudence.

"She is just on her way up there because that is where we thought it was most prudent to have her at this time," he said during a presser.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer also stressed that North Korea had been "clearly on notice" by Trump who would not stand certain provocative actions.

"I think there is no evidence that North Korea has that capability at this time," he said. "Threatening something that you don't have the capability of isn't really a threat."

A woman walks past a television screen showing file footage of a North Korean missile launch, at a railway station in Seoul on April 5, 2017.

Last week, North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan just days after it warned the global community of retaliation over sanctions.

In February, North Korea also simultaneously launched four ballistic missiles off its east coast, three of which landed close to Japan. In August, it also successfully tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile some 500 kilometers off the coast of Japan, in a move which Kim hailed as the "greatest success."

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