Trump Administration Holds Emergency Meetings Following Successful North Korean Missile Launch
Rex Tillerson confirmed...
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Key Trump administration officials reportedly spent Independence Day in emergency meetings following North Korea’s successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile that some worry may be able to reach Alaska.
The goal had been for the administration to craft a “measured response” to the crisis for President Donald Trump to approve, a source confirmed to CNN.
While nothing had yet been decided by Wednesday, possible responses include deploying military forces to the region and imposing more sanctions on the rogue regime.
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Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, also took part in the meetings and reportedly requested that an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council take place Wednesday.
Spending my 4th in meetings all day. #ThanksNorthKorea
Though experts maintain that North Korea still lacks long-range nuclear weapon capabilities, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson noted in a statement Tuesday that the launch represents a “new escalation of the threat.”
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He added that the world’s nations must work together to stop this “global threat.”
“Any country that hosts North Korean guest workers, provides any economic or military benefits, or fails to fully implement U.N. Security Council resolutions is aiding and abetting a dangerous regime,” Tillerson said.
However, he stressed that the United States “seeks only the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the end of threatening actions by North Korea.”
The launch has proven that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is far closer to developing intercontinental capabilities than had been thought.
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“This launch brings forward, or accelerates the timeframe, in which North Korea was expected to develop a longer-range intercontinental capability from perhaps maybe 5-10 years to within five years,” Jonathan Wood of Control Risks, a global risk and strategic consulting firm, told CNBC Wednesday.
Meanwhile, President Trump issued a series of statements on Twitter Monday mocking Kim Jong-un for his obsession with trying to develop a rocket capable of delivering a nuclear device to the United States, and seemingly pressuring China to respond to the dictator’s latest antics.
In another tweet early Wednesday morning, Trump slammed China over news that trade between it 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!” he said.
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