North Korea promises a ‘counteroffensive’ against the US and warns of ‘catastrophic consequences’
North Korea today boasted of the “redoubling” of its nuclear arsenal and claimed “no one has the right to make a fuss about our test of the H-bomb”.
They also laid the blame for the recent escalation on Donald Trump, saying the US has become "all the more reckless" under his leadership and that his actions left them "with no other choice" than to speed up development of their nuclear arsenal.
The statement also said that Trump's threat that "all options" were on the table would not work, and that those who thought it would frighten them were "terribly mistaken".
The rogue state promised to "respond to the heinous sanctions and pressure" with their own "counteroffensive".
The US would then be "held totally responsible" for the "catastrophic consequences", the statement claimed.
On Monday North Korean state media claimed its underground test of the H-bomb is a major “game changer” and several shockwaves were recorded across the globe after the bomb’s supposed detonation.
North Korea claimed the test was part of its efforts to attain the final goal of full nuclear force.
Earlier this week the United States Ambassador to the United Nations accused North Korea of "begging for war".
Nikki Haley told an emergency meeting of the UN Secretary Council in New York that the international community must impose “the strong possible measures” against Pyongyang.
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She added: “The time has come to exhaust all diplomatic means before it is too late.”
North Korea responded by saying the US is “terribly mistaken” by assuming sanctions frighten the isolated nation.
A major rift has appeared between Britain and the US over how best to respond to the threat from Kim Jong-un.
Earlier this week Theresa May refused to back Donald Trump’s Armageddon threats and desire to launch a large-scale military attack.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has called on China to end the nuclear stand-off with North Korea by cutting its oil supply. Mr Johnson suggested that the country has just six months of oil supplies left.
Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned North Korea's latest nuclear test as "provocative" but said tougher sanctions on Kim Jong-un over its nuclear missile programme could lead to large-scale human suffering.
"It's a road to nowhere. Whipping up military hysteria this will lead to no good. It could cause a global catastrophe and an enormous loss of life."
"Resorting to just any sanctions in this situation is useless and inefficient."
Instead he called for dialogue on the crisis and warned against other actions that could cause the situation to escalate.
"All of this can lead to a global planetary catastrophe and a great number of victims," he said.