North Korea Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said on Monday that President Donald Trump declared “war” on the U.S. via a tweet.
On Friday, Trump said on Twitter that if the reclusive country continued to make threats, it would not “be around much longer,” while also using his new favorite moniker for Korean leader Kim Jong-un: “Little rocket man.”
Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N. If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won’t be around much longer!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2017
In response, North Korea said that was a declaration of war.
“The U.N. charter stipulates individual member states’ rights to self-defense,” Ri said, according to BuzzFeed News. “Since the United States declared war on our country, we will have every right to make countermeasures including the right to shoot down the United States’ strategic bombers even when they’re not yet inside the airspace border of our country.”
In his comments, Ri directly referenced Trump’s tweet. “The question of who won’t be around much longer will be answered then,” he said.
Ri’s announcement about “the right to shoot down” bombers comes after news that U.S. bombers were flown along North Korea’s coast this weekend, in a display of force. According to reports, although they remained in international waters, the route was the farthest north U.S. bombers have gone past the DMZ in several decades.
H/T BuzzFeed
