ABC News(WASHINGTON) — After a North Korea launched a missile that flew over Japan, President Donald Trump warned “all options are on the table” as the United States considers its response.
“The world has received North Korea’s latest message loud and clear: This regime has signaled its contempt for its neighbors, for all members of the United Nations, and for minimum standards of acceptable international behavior,” said Trump in a statement.
“Threatening and destabilizing actions only increase the North Korean regime’s isolation in the region and among all nations of the world,” he added.
“All options are on the table.”
As Trump departed the White House Tuesday to travel to Texas, where he will be briefed on Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, the president was asked about his plans for North Korea.
“We’ll see. We’ll see,” said Trump.
The missile launch, which occurred early Tuesday morning local time in Japan, spurred an alert from Japan’s emergency warning system as the missile passed overhead.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later addressed the incident, saying that Japan was collecting information on the launch and taking “all possible measures to ensure our people’s safety.”
Trump and Abe spoke by phone after the launch, and according to a White House readout of the call, “agreed that North Korea poses a grave and growing direct threat to the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, as well as to countries around the world.”
“President Trump and Prime Minister Abe committed to increasing pressure on North Korea, and doing their utmost to convince the international community to do the same,” the readout said.
Copyright © 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
