Politics

‘Locked and loaded’: Trump says US ready to fight

Aug 12, 2017

Donald Trump, seen here speaking at a campaign rally in 2016, says the US is ready to take on North Korea.

The United States is “locked and loaded” and ready to retaliate should North Korea make good on its threats to take down the US military base at Guam.

President Donald Trump made the announcement on his Twitter page on Friday night (local time) and warned North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to rethink his rhetoric.

“Military solutions are now fully in place,locked and loaded,should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!” he wrote, before retweeting pictures from the US Pacific Command showing B-1B Lancer bombers stationed at Guam.

Military solutions are now fully in place,locked and loaded,should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 11, 2017

#USAF B-1B Lancer #bombers on Guam stand ready to fulfill USFK’s #FightTonight mission if called upon to do so https://t.co/O3oVeFrNrG pic.twitter.com/IAm2qLwcWY

— U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (@INDOPACOM) August 11, 2017

Trump’s military assertion follows days of bitter talk between the US and North Korea, with Trump warning the rogue state to dial back its threats or face retribution.

On Thursday, North Korea released potential plans to strike the US territory of Guam in the Western Pacific, reports News Corp.

They also threatened to use its young people as “five million human bullets and bombs and nuclear warheads to blow the US from this planet”.

While Trump continues to ramp up his campaign against North Korea, other world leaders are divided on his approach.

On Friday, prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said Australia would enact the ANZUS agreement if the US was attacked and support them in military retaliation.

However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters on Friday she opposed any use of force against North Korea.

“I don’t envision a military solution to this conflict but rather consistent work as we’ve observed at the United Nations Security Council,” she said, reports Nine News.

“Germany will very intensively take part in the options for resolution that are not military but I consider a verbal escalation to be the wrong response,” she said when asked about Trump’s latest tweets on North Korea.