REFLECTIONS

As the War of Words With North Korea Escalates, So Does the Risk of Real War

Sep 25, 2017 | 19:13 GMT

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong leaves his hotel in New York on Sept. 25, headed to a news conference in which he accused the United States of declaring war.

Over the past week, the rhetoric between the United States and North Korea has rapidly escalated. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un responded to U.S. President Donald Trump's Sept. 19 U.N. speech by saying that Pyongyang was seriously considering the "highest level of hard-line countermeasures in history."

(JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

The United States has declared war on North Korea, according to North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong. In a brief news conference in New York on Sept. 25, Ri said that U.S. President Donald Trump's recent statements to the U.N. General Assembly were tantamount to a declaration of war and that all of the members of the United Nations clearly heard that it was the United States that first declared war on North Korea. Therefore, Ri argued, Pyongyang has a right to self-defense under the U.N. charter and would be justified if it were to shoot down U.S. strategic bombers, even outside North Korean territory....

Subscribe to view this article

Subscribe Now

Subscribe

Already have an account?