North Korea claims U.S. declared ‘war first’ as tensions between two nations boosts
North Korea’s foreign minister has accused US President Donald Trump of declaring war on his country and said Pyongyang had the right to shoot down US bombers.
Speaking to reporters in New York on Monday, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said that US President Donald Trump has effectively declared war on Pyongyang, meaning all options were on the table for his country’s leadership.
“The whole world should clearly remember it was the US who first declared war on our country,” Reuters quoted him as saying.
“Since the United States declared war on our country, we will have every right to make countermeasures, including the right to shoot down United States strategic bombers even when they are not inside the airspace border of our country.”
The increasingly heated rhetoric between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is raising fears of a risk of a miscalculation by one side or the other that could have massive repercussions.
Tensions have recently significantly risen between North Korea and the US. The latter flew bombers over waters east of North Korea on Saturday.
In his first speech at the UN General Assembly on September 19, Trump threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea if necessary.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said it was “absurd” to suggest the US had declared war.
The US and South Korea are technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.
