North Korea’s decision not to follow through on a threat to strike the island of Guam is “very wise,” according to US President Donald Trump, who said such an attack would have been “catastrophic.”
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"The alternative would have been both catastrophic and unacceptable!" Trump tweeted Wednesday morning.
Relations between the two nations deteriorated drastically in recent weeks, culminating in North Korean leader Kim Jong-un claiming he was preparing plans to fire missiles at the US island territory in Micronesia.
North Korea has now, it appears, halted these plans, with its state media reporting that the government is open to defusing the tension in order to “prevent dangerous military conflict on the Korean Peninsula.”
READ MORE: N. Korea may put off Guam strike if ‘foolish Yankees’ refrain from provocations
Trump described the developments as a “well reasoned decision” early Wednesday, after a sustained period of rhetoric from both nations suggested a military conflict was on the cards.
The US president stoked already-hostile relations on August 8, when he said North Korea would be met with “fire and fury” if they made any threats to US security. Days later Trump claimed that if Pyongyang “acts unwisely,” US “military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded.”
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Earlier this month, sanctions were imposed on North Korea by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in response to ballistic missile tests carried out by Pyongyang.
North Korea slammed the sanctions as a “violent violation of our sovereignty” and pledged to carry out “righteous action” in response.