North Korea is threatening “tough counteraction” after a U.S. Navy strike group was relocated to the area, NPR reports. The relocation occurred following North Korea’s latest ballistic missile test, but the military action North Korea has vowed to pursue would presumably occur if the U.S. attempted a new military move toward the Korean peninsula.
“We never beg for peace but we will take the toughest counteraction against the provocateurs in order to defend ourselves by powerful force of arms and keep to the road chosen by themselves” a Foreign Ministry official told the Korean Central News Agency, as quoted in NPR. “We will hold the U.S. wholly accountable for the catastrophic consequences to be entailed by its outrageous actions,” the statement concluded.
North Korea’s statement comes in response to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s recent explanation of the U.S. missile strikes against Syria. “If you violate international agreements, if you fail to live up to commitments, if you become a threat to others, at some point a response is likely to be undertaken,” Tillerson told ABC’s “This Week.” According to CBS News, although Tillerson did not name North Korea per se, it was implied that the country, led by Kim Jong-un, fits the bill.
So far, the U.S. response to the North Korean statement is limited to the following tweet from President Trump:
North Korea is looking for trouble. If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them! U.S.A.
— President Trump (@POTUS) April 11, 2017