North Korea’s foreign minister says President Donald Trump had declared war on his country and that Pyongyang reserves the right to take countermeasures, including shooting down US bombers even if they are not in its airspace.
The increasingly heated rhetoric between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is raising fears of a risk of a miscalculation by one side or the other that could have massive repercussions.
“The whole world should clearly remember it was the US who first declared war on our country,” Ri Yong-ho said in New York City on Monday.
“Since the United States declared war on our country, we will have every right to make countermeasures, including the right to shoot down United States strategic bombers even when they are not inside the airspace border of our country.”
In a direct reference to a Twitter post by Trump on Saturday, Ri said: “The question of who won’t be around much longer will be answered then.”
US stocks fell sharply in late morning trading on Monday after Ri’s comments. The five tech companies – Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Alphabet – were down between 3.7 percent and 1.05 percent.
