NKorea Advises US to Take Hydrogen Bomb Test Warning ‘Literally’

Local Editor

The US and its allies could indeed witness a hydrogen bomb test over the Pacific, unless they stop devising military options against Pyongyang, a senior North Korean diplomat warned.

This, as the US Navy beefs up its presence ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit in the region.

Speaking on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly last month, North Korean FM Ri Yong-ho said that if backed into a corner, Pyongyang could conduct "the most powerful detonation" of a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean.

On Wednesday, Ri Yong Pil, a senior diplomat in North Korea's Foreign Ministry, told CNN that the minister's warning should be taken "literally" as tensions with Washington continue to rise.

"The foreign minister is very well aware of the intentions of our supreme leader, so I think you should take his words literally," Ri told the US news outlet, warning that Pyongyang "has always brought its words into action."

"The US is talking about a military option and even practicing military moves. They're pressuring us on all fronts with sanctions. If you think this will lead to diplomacy, you're deeply mistaken," Ri said.

The warning from the North Korean Foreign Ministry official, also the vice president of the Foreign Ministry's Institute for American Studies, comes amid increasingly belligerent rhetoric from the White House.

In a recent interview with Fox News last Sunday, Trump once again reminded Pyongyang that the US is "totally prepared" to use military options against North Korea.

"You would be shocked to see how totally prepared we are if we need to be," Trump said. "Would it be nice not to do that? The answer is yes."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team