US warns North Korea over missile attack threats
Pyongyang’s military put its “strategic” rocket units on a war footing, threatening South Korea as well as US targets in Hawaii and on the west coast
The United States takes North Korea’s latest threats to strike targets on the US mainland, Hawaii and Guam “very seriously,” Pentagon spokesman George Little said on Tuesday.
“We are concerned by any threat raised by the North Koreans. We take everything they say and everything they do very seriously. They need to stop threatening peace – that doesn’t help anyone,” Little told reporters.
Pyongyang’s military put its “strategic” rocket units on a war footing on Tuesday, threatening South Korea as well as US targets. The military said units should be ready to attack “all US military bases in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Little rejected what he called the North’s “bellicose rhetoric,” saying it followed a “well-known pattern designed to raise tensions and intimidate others.”
“North Korea will achieve nothing by threats or provocations which will only further isolate North Korea and undermine international efforts to achieve peace and stability in northeast Asia,” the spokesman said.
“We stand ready to respond to any contingency.”
