Trump said ‘all options are on the table’ after North Korea fired a missile over Japan
President Trump said Tuesday that “all options are on the table” in dealing with North Korea after the hermit kingdom fired a missile that flew over Japan’s airspace.
“Threatening and destabilizing actions only increase the North Korean regime’s isolation in the region and among all nations of the world,” Trump said in a statement released by the Office of the Press Secretary. “All options are on the table.”
“This regime has signaled its contempt for its neighbors, for all members of the United Nations, and for minimum standards of acceptable international behavior,” Trump said, adding that the world has received North Korea’s message “loud and clear.”
The White House on Tuesday also confirmed that Trump had spoken with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe the day before after North Korea’s provocation.
“The two leaders agreed that North Korea poses a grave and growing direct threat to the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, as well as to countries around the world,” it said in a statement.
Abe on Monday said he would urge the United Nations to escalate its pressure against North Korea following Pyongyang’s latest missile launch.
“This reckless act of firing a missile over our nation is an unprecedented, serious and significant threat, one that seriously diminishes the peace and safety of the region, and as a result we have lodged a firm protest against North Korea,” he said.
“We have also requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council,” Abe added. “By working together with the international community, we will seek to further strengthen pressure against North Korea.”
“Under the firm Japan-U.S. Alliance, so that we can deal with any circumstance, while maintaining a sense of tension, we will do our utmost to ensure the public’s safety.”