North Korea gave a dire warning to the United Nations General Assembly disarmament committee about the increasing likelihood of a nuclear war on Monday.
Kim In Ryong, North Korea’s deputy ambassador to the U.N., told the committee that a nuclear conflict with the United States "may break out any moment," continuing an escalating war of words between the isolated country and President Trump.
Kim added that his country is now a "full-fledged nuclear power which possesses the delivery means of various ranges, including the atomic bomb, H-bomb and intercontinental ballistic rockets," and gave the U.S. a stern warning: "The entire U.S. mainland is within our firing range, and if the U.S. dares to invade our sacred territory even an inch it will not escape our severe punishment in any part of the globe."
While the comments may sound severe, they're actually fairly par for the course when it comes to North Korea's rhetoric surrounding nuclear war.
But what's more troubling is how Trump has responded in recent months, calling North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "little rocket man," and threatening to "totally destroy" North Korea if they attempt to test their nuclear capabilities on the U.S. or any of its allies.
Despite the strong language, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is still looking for a diplomatic solution, and vows to continue to do so "until the first bomb drops," despite Trump's tweets suggesting that Tillerson is "wasting his time."
Trump is set to visit South Korea in November, and hasn't ruled out visiting the Demilitarized Zone that Vice President Pence famously was photographed at as he gave North Korea a good hard glare.
But don't expect peace to be easily or swiftly reached.
"Unless the hostile policy and the nuclear threat of the U.S. is thoroughly eradicated, we will never put our nuclear weapons and ballistic rockets on the negotiating table under any circumstances," Kim said.
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H/T: Huffington Post, ABC News
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
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@arianagrande/Instagram