Trump: All Options on the Table After N. Korea Missile Launch
US president spoke with Japanese counterpart Tuesday about growing threat of Pyongyang's missile program.
President Donald Trump says that "all options are on the table" following another missile launch by North Korea Tuesday. North Korea "has signaled its contempt for its neighbors, for all members of the United Nations, and for minimum standards of acceptable international behavior," Trump said in a statement released by the White House. "Threatening and destabilizing actions only increase the North Korean regime’s isolation in the region and among all nations of the world. All options are on the table." When asked by VOA what specifically he planned to do about North Korea Tuesday morning, the president replied "We'll see, we'll see", without elaborating before boarding the Marine One helicopter on the South Lawn. The missile launched by North Korea early Tuesday morning flew over Japan. President Trump spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the phone following the launch Tuesday, agreeing that North Korea poses a "grave and growing direct threat" to both countries. "President Trump and Prime Minister Abe committed to increasing pressure on North Korea, and doing their utmost to convince the international community to do the same," a readout of the call by the White House read. The missile passed high above Japan about 10 minutes after launch, split into three pieces and splashed into the Pacific Ocean, east of the northern main Japanese island of Hokkaido, according to Japan’s government. The launch ended a month-long hiatus in missile tests, which U.S. officials interpreted as “restraint” and prompted Trump last week to say that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was “starting to respect us.”