Trump: US has 'pretty severe things' planned for North Korea, but 'I don't draw red lines'
North Korea launched an ICBM on July 4.
— -- President Trump called on all nations to join in countering North Korea’s “very, very bad behavior” and said the country must be confronted “very strongly” after a series of missile test-launches, the most recent of which, U.S. officials believe, was an intercontinental ballistic missile.
"They are behaving in a very, very dangerous manner," Trump said today during a news conference in Poland with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Asked whether North Korea’s actions are beyond redemption and if he’s ready to launch military action, Trump wouldn’t say what actions he might take but said “something” will have to happen.
“I don’t know. We’ll see what happens. I don’t like to talk about what I have planned. I have pretty severe things that we’re thinking about,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that we’ll do them. I don’t draw red lines.
“We’ll take a look at what happens over the coming weeks and months with respect to North Korea.”
North Korea has conducted 10 missile tests this year — the latest with an intercontinental ballistic missile on July 4, which U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called an escalation of the threat posed by the country. North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un’s regime has been attempting to build a missile that’s capable of striking the U.S. mainland.
In response to that test, the United Nations on Wednesday called a Security Council emergency session, at which Haley argued that the North Koreans’ actions are “quickly closing off the possibility of a diplomatic solution.”
The U.S. has “considerable military forces. We will use them if we must. But we prefer not to have to go in that direction,” she said.
North Korea will be a topic of discussion for much of Trump’s foreign trip, the second of his presidency. He leaves Poland today to attend the G-20 summit in Germany. On the sidelines of the summit, Trump will meet with the key regional players in the North Korean missile predicament: South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Trump recently suggested that efforts with China have failed to rein in North Korea.
“Trade between China and North Korea grew almost 40% in the first quarter. So much for China working with us - but we had to give it a try!” Trump tweeted early Wednesday.
ABC News’ Conor Finnegan contributed to this report.
Related Topics
Related Stories
ABC News Live