PYONGYANG, North Korea (Reuters) — North Korea denounced United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s warning against them during his Asia trip and said they are ready for war with the US.
The North’s state-run television KRT on Tuesday (March 21) cited its foreign ministry spokesperson as saying North Korea has the will and capability to fully respond to any war which the US wants.
Last week, Tillerson issued the Trump administration’s starkest warning yet to North Korea, saying a military response would be “on the table” if it took action to threaten South Korean and US forces.
Tillerson wrapped up his first Asian trip as secretary of state in Japan, South Korea and China on Sunday (March 19) with a main focus of finding a “new approach” to North Korea after what he described as two decades of failed efforts to denuclearize the insular nation.
The North’s state media on Sunday (March 19) reported that it had conducted a test of a new high-thrust engine at its rocket launch station. Leader Kim Jong Un said the successful test marked “a new birth” of its rocket industry.
