BEDMINSTER, USA/BEIJING: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned North Korea it would be met with “fire and fury” if it threatens the United States.
Earlier Pyongyang said it was ready to give Washington a “severe lesson” with its strategic nuclear force in response to any US military action.
Washington has warned it is ready to use force if need be to stop North Korea’s weapons ballistic missile and nuclear programs but has said it prefers global diplomatic action, including sanctions.
The consequences of a US strike would potentially be catastrophic for South Koreans, Japanese and US military personnel within range of North Korean retaliatory strikes.
“North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen,” Trump told reporters at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Earlier on Tuesday, Japan’s Defense Ministry said “It is conceivable that North Korea’s nuclear weapons program has already considerably advanced and it is possible that North Korea has already achieved the miniaturization of nuclear weapons and has acquired nuclear warheads.”
The UN Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Saturday over its continued missile tests that could slash the reclusive country’s $3 billion annual export revenue by a third.
North Korea said the sanctions infringed its sovereignty and it was ready to give Washington a “severe lesson” with its strategic nuclear force in response to any US military action.
North Korea has made no secret of its plans to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of striking the United States and has ignored international calls to halt its nuclear and missile programs.
North Korea says its intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) are a legitimate means of defense against perceived US hostility. It has long accused the United States and South Korea of escalating tensions by conducting military drills.
US stocks fell, with the S&P 500 at a session low after Trump’s comment, while a widely followed measure of stock market anxiety spiked higher and was on track to close at a one-month high. The US dollar index slightly pared gains as the safe-haven yen strengthened against the US currency.
Trump warns N.Korea will be met with “fire and fury” if it threatens US
Trump warns N.Korea will be met with “fire and fury” if it threatens US
US designates Afghanistan as ‘state sponsor of wrongful detention’
- “The Taliban continues to use terrorist tactics, kidnapping individuals for ransom or to seek policy concessions,” Rubio says
WASHINGTON, United States: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday he has designated Afghanistan as a “State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention,” demanding Taliban authorities release two Americans and commit to ending its “hostage diplomacy.”
The move comes just over a week after Iran became the first country added to Washington’s new “wrongful detention” blacklist.
President Donald Trump in September signed an executive order that created the blacklist, similar to designations by the United States on terrorism.
“The Taliban continues to use terrorist tactics, kidnapping individuals for ransom or to seek policy concessions,” Rubio said in a statement.
He said it was “not safe for Americans to travel to Afghanistan because the Taliban continues to unjustly detain our fellow Americans and other foreign nationals.”
“The Taliban needs to release Dennis Coyle, Mahmoud Habibi, and all Americans unjustly detained in Afghanistan now and commit to cease the practice of hostage diplomacy forever,” he added.
Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman, previously served as Afghanistan’s director of civil aviation.
He was arrested in August 2022 in Kabul along with dozens of other employees of his telecommunications company, according to US authorities.
The State Department has issued a reward of $5 million for information leading to Habibi’s return.
Coyle is an academic from Colorado who worked for two decades in Afghanistan before being detained in January 2025, according to the James Foley Foundation.
