Alwaght- North Korea has responded to President Donald Trump's speech to South Korea's National Assembly in which Trump warned North Korea not to test the US's resolve.
North Korean officials, who spoke with CNN about the speech, were not thrilled. "We don't care about what that mad dog may utter because we've already heard enough," they said.
The officials reaffirmed North Korea's commitment to building nuclear weapons, bringing up the US's "nuclear aircraft carriers and strategic bombers" before promising to "counter those threats by bolstering the power of justice in order to take out the root cause of aggression and war."
“The United States is threatening us with nuclear aircraft carriers and strategic bombers. They are challenging us with the most vicious and demeaning provocations but we will counter those threats by bolstering the power of justice in order to take out the root cause of aggression and war," the officials said.
A commentary in the state-controlled North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun published before Trump’s speech said U.S. threats show why North Korea must continue to develop its nuclear capability. “The present grave situation once again clearly shows that Trump's mad remarks of ‘total destruction’ and ‘annihilation’ of the DPRK (North Korea) have resulted in military gambling and that it is just the U.S. which poses threat to the DPRK's existence and development and brings disastrous nuclear war to the Korean peninsula.”
North Korean officials have repeatedly said they will not look to negotiate with the US until they complete their country's nuclear weapons program. At the same time, the US remains intent on preventing North Korea from perfecting a nuclear-equipped missile capable of reaching the US mainland.
The tensions on the Korean Peninsula have worsened after increased provocations by the US which includes military drills and deployment of warships and submarines in the region.
Pyongyang insists that developing its military defenses including nuclear weapons is important to counter incessant provocations by the US including a possible nuclear aggression.
