Well, we knew the grim spectre of nuclear war was probably lingering, vampire-like, over the horizon. It’s nice to get some confirmation that it’s still there.
Your mate and ours Donald Trump has issued a statement directed at North Korea, threatening to respond with “fire and fury” if it makes any more threats towards the United States. He was responding to reports that the DPRK had overcome the final technical hurdles in their ability to launch nuclear-armed missiles at the continental United States.
Additionally, the North Korean government threatened “physical” retaliation for the fresh batch of sanctions placed on them by the United Nations.
Speaking to journalists at his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump made it pretty clear. “North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States,” he said. “They will be met with the fire and the fury like the world has never seen.”
All of this follows a statement on Tuesday from Japan‘s Defence Ministry:
It is conceivable that North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme has already considerably advanced and it is possible that North Korea has already achieved the miniaturisation of nuclear weapons and has acquired nuclear warheads.
According to the Washington Post, U.S. intelligence analysts have concluded that North Korea has indeed built a miniaturised nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles, though they do not believe it has been tested.
Trump’s national security advisor H.R. McMaster recently said the U.S. is “not going to tolerate North Korea being able to threaten the United States.”
It isn’t clear what the U.S. will do next. Earlier this month, the country tested an intercontinental ballistic missile days after North Korea did the same. Successive ICBM tests by nuclear-armed countries are always a good sign, no?
Ahh. Bliss. We’re excited to perish in nuclear fire.
