In a new escalation of hostility between Washington and Pyongyang, North Korea’s foreign minister warned in a United Nations speech Saturday that a rocket attack on the U.S. mainland was “inevitable” while U.S. warplanes flew off the east coast of North Korea in an explicit show of force.
A total of eight U.S. aircraft flew close to the North Korean coastline while remaining in international airspace, the Pentagon said in a statement, adding it was the farthest north of the demilitarized zone between North Korea and South Korea that U.S. warplanes have flown since North Korea started testing ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons in the 1990s.
“This mission is a demonstration of U.S. resolve and a clear message that the president has many military options to defeat any threat,” said Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White. “We are prepared to use the full range of military capabilities to defend the U.S. homeland and our allies.”
The moves on Saturday capped a week of growing hostility between the two countries and directly involving their top leaders. The rising animosity has spurred world leaders to call for restraint and diplomacy, but neither capital so far has shown an inclination to back down from the standoff.
President Donald Trump this week derided North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as “Rocket Man,” saying he was on a suicide mission and that the U.S. would annihilate North Korea if forced to defend itself or its allies. He drew a personal response from Mr. Kim, who called Mr. Trump “deranged” and warned of retaliation.
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho suggested to international officials at the annual General Assembly gathering that military strikes by his country are inevitable. North Korea has been steadily advancing in both its missile and nuclear warhead programs, and is considered close to possessing the capability of an intercontinental strike.
“Trump might not have been aware what is uttered from his mouth, but we will make sure that he bears consequences far beyond his words, far beyond the scope of what he can handle, even if he is ready to do so,” said Mr. Ri.
“He committed an irreversible mistake of making our rockets’ visit to the entire U.S. mainland inevitable all the more,” he added.
U.S. officials watched as Mr. Ri spoke, but the U.S. mission to the U.N. didn’t comment on Mr. Ri’s speech.
The North Korean official delivered a series of personal attacks on Mr. Trump, calling him “mentally deranged,” “evil,” and an “old gambler” who had turned the White House into “a noisy marketing place” and the U.N. into a “gangster den.”
He said it was Mr. Trump, not North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, who was on a “suicide mission” and that he should be blamed if innocent American lives were lost.
Mr. Ri also said North Korea’s nuclear program had entered into the phase of completion and that the country was a “responsible nuclear state” that would only use its weapons against nations that took military actions against Pyongyang.
In the U.S. air operation east of North Korea, eight planes including Air Force B-1 Lancer bombers and F-15C Eagle fighter escorts flew off the east coast of North Korea, the Pentagon said Saturday.
Ms. White, the Pentagon spokeswoman, said this U.S. air mission underscored “the seriousness with which we take DPRK’s reckless behavior,” referring to North Korea by its acronym.
Two B-1 bombers flew from the U.S. territory of Guam, home to two U.S. military bases, including Andersen Air Force base and its fleet of B-1 bombers.
Mr. Kim in August threatened to launch a missile attack on the island of Guam, located roughly 3,800 miles west of Hawaii and 2,100 miles south-southeast of Pyongyang, though he ratcheted back that threat days later.
The six F-15C escorts were deployed from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, U.S. Pacific Command spokesman Cdr. David Benham said.
Cdr. Benham didn’t comment on the planes’ armaments, but said the F-15s provided fighter escort and “they are prepared to defend against attack, if necessary.”
Japan is well within the range of North Korea’s ballistic missiles, and in mid-September Mr. Kim launched a missile over Japan, the second such launch in the span of a month. That missile flew an estimated 2,300 miles, according to South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff, which also would put Guam within range.
Cdr. Benham declined to comment on whether North Korea responded in any way to the mission, citing policy to not discuss intelligence matters.
At the U.N., Mr. Ri argued that his country was a victim of unfair sanctions and biased action by the U.N. and said the world body was tilted in favor of the five permanent members of the Security Council, the U.S., U.K., France, Russia and China.
“We will take preventive measures by merciless pre-emptive action in case the U.S. and its vassal forces show any sign of conducting a kind of decapitating operation on our headquarters or military attack against our country,” he said.
North Korea appeared defiant against international criticism and U.N. Security Council action, dismissing both as unjustified pressure by the U.S. and its allies.
In many ways Mr. Ri’s speech marked a setback to hopes that Pyongyang was open in the short run to attempts to de-escalate tensions in the interest of diplomacy and negotiations.
Seven representatives from North Korea were sitting in the country’s designated area in the General Assembly hall. Two American delegates were also present, listening to the speech and taking notes.
North Korea’s speech has been one of the most anticipated at the gathering of world leaders this year, along with Mr. Trump’s speech. North Korea has very little interaction with the outside world and the annual General Assembly meeting offers a unique opportunity for world leaders to hear directly from Pyongyang’s regime.
Many world leaders mentioned North Korea’s crisis in their own speeches to the Assembly this week, urging its leaders to abandon its nuclear and missile tests in favor of diplomacy.
Ireland’s minister for environment, Denis Naughton, spoke at the podium Saturday before Mr. Ri. He urged North Korea to calm the tensions.
“This is a conflict the world does not need and we need to move away from,” said Mr. Naughton.
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