China fires 'dozens of missiles' in show of strength during live-fire drills near North Korea as tension escalates over Kim Jong-un's ambitious nuclear test
The live drill took place yesterday in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Gulf in China
- The waters are adjacent to the Korean Peninsula
- It comes as China backed UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea
China's navy and air force flexed their muscles in live-fire drills close to North Korea amid escalating tension over Kim Jong-un's nuclear test.
The drill included the firing of missiles and according to the ministry aimed to hone the military's abilities to conduct coastal assaults.
It comes as China announced it was prepared to face the consequences of backing a US-drafted UN Security Council resolution on sanctions against North Korea.
Military exercises: Destroyer Taizhou fires missile during a drill on August 7, 2017 in China
Video footage shows the drill taking place in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Gulf
Both the navy and army conducted exercises which involved the firing of dozens of missiles
The live drills were held on August 7 just off China's east coast in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Gulf, adjacent to the Korean Peninsula.
Both the navy and army conducted exercises which involved the firing of dozens of missiles.
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Four missile frigates fire missiles during a drill on August 7 in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea
China's Ministry of Defence claim that the drills were aimed at testing weapons
Chinese government announced that it was prepared to face the consequences of sanctioning North Korea
Dozens of ships and 10 aircraft took part in the drills. China's Ministry of Defence claim that the drills were aimed at testing weapons and honing the military's abilities in conducting coastal assaults along with intercepting air targets.
The drill comes just days after China backed new sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear weapons pursuits.
Earlier today, the Chinese government announced that it was prepared to face the consequences of sanctioning North Korea despite being one of its biggest traders.
North Korea has since vowed that the sanctions would not stop it from developing its nuclear arsenal.
Preparing? Dozens of ships and around 10 aircraft took part in the drills
Screened in China: Video footage of the drill was shown on Chinese state television
North Korea has vowed that the sanctions would not stop it from developing its nuclear arsenal
Tillerson said Trump's 'fire and fury' charge to Kim shouldn't have Americans panicking because North Korea does not pose an 'imminent threat' to the United States.
Pyongyang's volatile dictator has warned that he was 'carefully examining' plans to make 'an enveloping fire' around Guam, which is home to about 163,000 people and a sprawling American military base.
American airmen in Guam have said they are ready to 'fight tonight,' if they have to. Officials on the island have said they've been reassured by the White House that 'America will be defended.'
The US has also released images of supersonic B-1B bombers flying over the Korean peninsula during a military exercise.
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President Donald Trump fired another flare in Kim Jong-Un's direction on Wednesday morning, saying in tweets the United States' nuclear arsenal is 'stronger and more powerful than ever before' and he 'hopefully' won't need to use it
Two U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers from Guam's military base participated in a strategic bilaterial mission with South Korea and Japan hours before North Korea threatened to strike Guam. Pictured top left and right are the two B-1B Lancer bombers and bottom left and center are Japan Self-Defense Forces F-2 fighter jets near Kyushu, Japan during the mission
The 10-hour mission from Guam's Andersen Air Force Base (above) took place on Monday and was the first for the aircraft and crews recently deployed from South Dakota's Ellsworth Air Force Base to support U.S. Pacific Command's Continuous Bomber Presence missions
North Korea says the training mission 'proves that the U.S. imperialists are nuclear war maniacs.'
Kim, who boasts that his intercontinental rockets can reach the west coast of America, has warned the US that it will 'pay dearly' for UN sanctions it successfully imposed over the weekend that were backed by China and Russia.
But Tillerson said Wednesday that he does not believe Washington and Pyongyang are on the edge of war.
'Americans should sleep well at night,' Tillerson told reporters as he flew from Malaysia to Guam.
Trump spoke harshly to Kim, a tyrant, 'because he doesn't seem to understand diplomatic language,' Tillerson contended.
'I think the president just wanted to be clear with the North Korean regime on the U.S. unquestionable ability to defend itself, will defend itself and its allies, and I think it was important that he deliver that message to avoid any miscalculation on their part,' he added.
An adviser to the president appeared on Fox & Friends soon after to warn Kim and his government that Trump would not be trifled with.
'He’s saying don’t test America and don’t test Donald J Trump. We are not just the superpower. We were a superpower, we are now a hyper-power,' Sebastian Gorka, a deputy assistant to the president said. 'Nobody in the world, especially not North Korea comes close to challenging our military capabilities.
'Whether they are conventional, whether they are nuclear or whether they are Special Forces. So the message is very clear: don’t test this White House, Pyongyang,' he stated.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says that President Donald Trump's 'fire and fury' charge to Kim Jong-Un shouldn't have Americans panicking. Tillerson is on his way back to Washington from Asia. He made a pit stop in Guam
'How we train is how we fight and the more we interface with our allies, the better prepared we are to fight tonight,' one of the pilots with the 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron B-1 said. Pictured above is a B-1B Lancer bombers taking off for the mission
The crews practiced intercept and formation training, which gave them an opportunity to improve their combined capabilities and tactical skills. Above a B-1B Lancer bomber is pictured during the mission
The two bombers (above at take off) flew in the vicinity of Kyushu, Japan, the East China Sea, and the Korean peninsula. The U.S. released photos of the mission late Tuesday seemingly in response to North Korea's threat to strike Guam
North Korea said Tuesday that it is 'carefully examining' a plan to strike the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam with missiles hours after Trump told the country that additional threats to the U.S. would be met with 'fire and fury.'
A spokesman for the Korean People's Army, in a statement carried by the North's state-run KCNA news agency, said Wednesday the strike plan will be 'put into practice in a multi-current and consecutive way any moment' once Kim makes a decision.
Guam, which is roughly 2,128 miles from North Korea, is home to both Andersen Air Force Base and Naval Base Guam housing thousands of American service members and their families.
Roughly 28 percent of the island is occupied by the U.S. military. The base houses bomber assurance and deterrence missions, including six B-52s which the air force says provide 'strategic global strike capability [to] deter potential adversaries and provide reassurance to allies' and that they are ready to go.
North Korea has said it could carry out a pre-emptive operation if the U.S. showed signs of provocation.
Pyongyang said this week that it was ready to give Washington a 'severe lesson' with its strategic nuclear force in response to any U.S. military action.
Despite North Korea's combative language, which was mimicked by Trump, Tillerson said Wednesday, 'Nothing that I have seen and nothing that I know of would indicate that the situation has dramatically changed in the last 24 hours.'
Tillerson talked to reporters on the way to Guam this morning as he returned to Washington from Malaysia.
North Korea said it is 'carefully examining' a plan to strike the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam with missiles. The strike plan will be 'put into practice in a multi-current and consecutive way any moment' once leader Kim Jong Un (file above) makes a decision
Threat came hours after President Donald Trump (above on Tuesday) delivered his fiercest warning yet to North Korea Tuesday afternoon
Guam, which is known as the 'Tip of the Spear', is home to thousands of American service members and their families at both Andersen Air Force Base and Naval Base Guam
Lt. Col. Daniel Diehl, 37th EBS, commander said in the release: 'As demonstrated today, our air forces stand combat-ready to deliver airpower when called upon.'
Trump cautioned Kim on Tuesday that additional threats of violence against the U.S. 'will be met with fire and the fury like the world has never seen' in a dramatic escalation of rhetoric that's put world leaders and U.S. politicians on the edge of their seats.
'He has been very threatening beyond a normal state, and as I said they will be met with the fire and fury and frankly power, the likes of which this world has never seen before,' Trump said in remarks at the top of an unrelated meeting on drug abuse yesterday.
Yet said to reporters, 'North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States.'
New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English said Trump's remarks were 'not helpful' given the 'very tense' environment that presently exists.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told CBS that Trump has 'basically drawn a red line.'
The Senate Armed Services Committee said war would be 'horrific' but he thinks 'we're headed that way unless the world can stop North Korea.'
'The time for talking is running out.'
Amid heightened tensions in the region, Beijing staged 'large-scale' military exercises with dozens of ships, fighter jets and submarines adjacent to the Korean Peninsula on Monday - just months after moving 150,000 troops to its border with North Korea.
Russia, meanwhile, moved military equipment including helicopters and combat vehicles to its southern frontier with the hermit state earlier this year. Moscow has displayed its own frightening military strength at a war games event in Siberia this week and during a vast Navy Day parade in Vladivostok - about 100 miles from North Korean territory.
Germany this morning urged North Korea and the United States to show 'restraint' in their mounting war of words.
'We are watching the increasing rhetorical escalation regarding the Korean Peninsula with the greatest concern,' foreign ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer told reporters. 'That is why we call on all sides to use restraint.'
Schaefer said Berlin was convinced a 'military option' could not be 'the answer in the quest for a nuclear weapon-free Southeast Asia'.
He urged the international community to 'thoroughly implement' the latest round of sanctions against North Korea approved by the United Nations Security Council and backed a call by Tillerson to resume talks with Pyongyang if it halts ballistic missile tests.
'We must all continue our diplomatic efforts - it is the only way to ensure that the threat of the illegal North Korean nuclear weapons programme can be contained,' he said.
Calling the situation on the Korean Peninsula 'complicated and sensitive', China's foreign ministry issued a statement warning that parties involved in the impasse should avoid 'words and actions that escalate the situation'.
The European Union said tensions over North Korea can only be resolved by peaceful means, with foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini's spokeswoman saying the developments are 'of great concern to the EU.'
Trump told Kim that additional threats of violence against the U.S. 'will be met with the fire and the fury like the world has never seen' on Tuesday
Comments from Trump came during a briefing on the opioid crisis on Tuesday at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster
Trump sent this tweet on Tuesday morning. That was before North Korea threatened to bomb Guam, escalating tensions
'The pressure is starting to show,' Tillerson contended Wednesday. 'I think that's why the rhetoric coming out of Pyongyang is beginning to become louder and more threatening. Whether we've got them backed into a corner or not is difficult to say, but diplomatically, you never like to have someone in a corner without a way for them to get out.'
Kim had warned the United States that it would pay 'pay dearly' for the United Nations sanctions regime it successfully imposed over the weekend and hinted at military action as tensions continued to escalate.
'Physical action will be taken mercilessly with the mobilization of all its national strength,' North Korea's state-run news agency said Tuesday.
The 33-year-old Kim was lashing out at a U.S. push to drain him of the hard currency he needs to develop his nuclear program that Russia and China reluctantly signed on to last weekend.
The sanctions put a hard stop to a third of North Korea's export revenue - a deafening blow to the country's economy.
Trump celebrated the universal participation of Security Council countries in the sanctions with a tweet Tuesday morning that said, 'After many years of failure,countries are coming together to finally address the dangers posed by North Korea. We must be tough & decisive!'
A Washington Post report later on Tuesday suggested that North Korea had invented a miniaturized warhead that it has the capability of attaching to the intercontinental ballistic missiles its been testing.
According to the report, US officials estimate that Kim now has 60 nuclear weapons in his possession.
By comparison, the US is estimated to have more than 6,800 in its stockpile, and Russia is thought to have 7,000.
The development brings the country dangerously close to its goal of creating of a nuclear weapon that can hit targets in the U.S.
Alaska, Hawaii, California and Guam would be at an especially high risk if Kim's scientists finish the weapons and North Korea decides to use them.
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said on Tuesday that he is seriously worried about a possible North Korean missile strike on his state as well as the rest of the United States.
'There's concern, but there's also pride,' Sullivan said on Fox News's 'The Story' Tuesday. 'Alaska is the cornerstone of our nation's missile defense.'
He added that Alaska's missile defense battalion 'is literally protecting the country.'
'The Alaska guard unit there calls themselves the 300, protecting the 300 million,' Sullivan said. 'So that's what they're doing now, protecting us.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, center, arrives at a military base in Subang, Malaysia on Tuesday. He's on his way back to Washington and is making a pit stop in Guam
Shortly after Trump's Tuesday morning message, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley appeared on Fox & Friends to deliver tough talk to North Korea and take a victory lap on sanctions.
'The United States will respond accordingly, and I think the international community will respond accordingly,' she said of the dangerous actions that Kim could take in response to the punishing actions.
It's up to North Korean leader to decide whether his response is, 'OK the international community is telling me to stop or he is going to have, you know, a temper tantrum,' she'd said.
Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy worried that Kim is rejecting the international mandate. 'It sounds like, we are getting closer to a shootin' war,' he told Haley.
'But we don't run scared,' Haley asserted. 'This had to happen, we had to go after his hard currency, we had to stop it.'
'How he responds? He's now going to have to think what's the end game? Is he really going to come after the United States knowing what the United States can do back? He's gotta make that calculation,' the high-ranking U.S. diplomat assessed.
A Washington Post report earlier in the day on Tuesday suggested that North Korea had invented a miniaturized warhead that it has the capability of attaching to the intercontinental ballistic missiles its been testing.
Trump stopped just short of a firm promise to declare war on Kim's government if the dictatorship continues to talk about 'physical action' to the U.S. during the meeting in New Jerseyon Tuesday with Kellyanne Conway (left), HHS Secretary Tom Price, (second left), Melania Trump (second right) and the National Drug Control Policy Center's Richard Baum (right)
Former President Barack Obama's aide Dan Pfeiffer went after Trump's warning to North Korea on Tuesday. Pfeiffer tweeted, 'Don't gloss over the fact that Trump threatened what can only be interpreted as a nuclear attack on North Korea if Kim Jong Un taunts him.'
On Monday, North Korea promised to 'teach the US a severe lesson' if it puts its military might to the test on the Korean Peninsula.
'We will, under no circumstances, put the nukes and ballistic rockets on the negotiating table,' North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said, effectively declining to engage in talks about the nuclear program.
State-run KCNA news agency meanwhile claimed that North Korea 'will make the US pay dearly for all the heinous crimes it commits against the state and people of this country.'
KCNA cautioned the U.S. against 'believing that its land is safe across the ocean' in what it described as a 'stern warning to the US.'
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, 33, first warned that the United States would 'pay dearly' for the United Nations sanctions regime it successfully imposed over the weekend and hinted at 'physical action' as tensions continued to escalate
Shortly after the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley appeared on Fox & Friends to deliver to more tough talk to North Korea
Tuesday it slapped the U.S. again, saying in a statement that appeared in the New York Times: 'Packs of wolves are coming in attack to strangle a nation...They should be mindful that the D.P.R.K.'s strategic steps accompanied by physical action will be taken mercilessly with the mobilization of all its national strength.'
Kim is fuming over a United Nations Security Council resolution that will cut a billion out of his $3 billion economy annually. The resolution bans North Korea exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood and blocks off other cash-rich avenues, including joint ventures.
The U.S. pushed the resolution through the Security Council on Saturday with the aid of Russia and China, North Korea's largest trading partner.
'Yes, China and Russia were not the easiest, but at the end of the day they came through, and that's all that matters,' Haley said this morning on Fox & Friends of the vote to put heavy penalties on North Korea over its continued nuclear tests.
China favors deconfliction with North Korea and denuclearization of the Korean peninsula but not the displacement of Kim. Beijing is concerned that a coup would put the country's stockpile of weapons in nefarious hands.
Naval Base Guam (file above) is located on the west side of the island. There is an estimated 6,300 active duty Navy members and 6,900 family members living on Guam as well as a significant population of retired military personnel
It joined the U.S. and 13 other nations that sit on the Security Council in approving new sanctions on North Korea, a nation with whom it shares a border, after Washington threatened to restrict access to its financial institutions last week.
North Korea's ramped up missile tests since Trump took office has the United States pursuing aggressive measures in the region, including Chinese sanctions.
Military action remains on the table, as well, sparking fears internationally that the conflict will result in war.
The Trump administration's attempts to pressure North Korea into abandoning its nuclear and missile ambitions have so far gained little traction.
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has warned of an 'effective and overwhelming' response against North Korea if it chose to use nuclear weapons but has said any military solution would be 'trag
Trump says North Korea will be met with 'fire and fury like the world has never seen' if it threatens U.S.
- President Trump delivered his fiercest warning yet to North Korea this afternoon
- North Korea warned that the United States would 'pay dearly' for the United Nations sanctions regime it successfully imposed over the weekend
- Also threatened 'physical action' and a 'mobilization of all its national strength'
- Trump told the country's leader that additional threats of violence against the U.S. 'will be met with the fire and the fury like the world has never seen'
- Trump previously said: 'After many years of failure,countries are coming together to finally address the dangers posed by North Korea. We must be tough & decisive!'
- Russia and China reluctantly signed on to a United Nations resolution that puts a hard stop to a third of North Korea's export revenue
- US officials believe Kim Jong-Un has built a miniaturized warhead for missiles and are ramping up their rhetoric in turn
- Defense Intelligence officials say he now has 60 nuclear weapons in his arsenal
President Donald Trump delivered his fiercest warning yet to North Korea this afternoon.
Trump told the country's leader, Kim Jong-Un, that additional threats of violence against the U.S. 'will be met with fire and the fury like the world has never seen.'
'He has been very threatening beyond a normal state, and as I said they will be met with the fire and fury and frankly power, the likes of which this world has never seen before,' Trump added in remarks at the top of an unrelated meeting.
He stopped just short of a firm promise to declare war on Kim's government if the dictatorship continues to talk about 'physical action' to the U.S.
'North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States,' Trump cautioned after a reporter asked him about the nuclear standoff.
President Donald Trump delivered his fiercest warning yet to North Korea this afternoon
Trump told the country's leader, Kim Jong-Un, that additional threats of violence against the U.S. 'will be met with the fire and the fury like the world has never seen'
Comments came during a briefing on the opioid crisis on Tuesday at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster
Trump told the world this morning that it must be vigilant against North Korea in the face of new threats from the country's young dictator.
Kim had warned the United States that it would pay 'pay dearly' for the United Nations sanctions regime it successfully imposed over the weekend and hinted at military action as tensions continued to escalate.
'Physical action will be taken mercilessly with the mobilization of all its national strength,' North Korea's state-run news agency said Tuesday.
The 33-year-old Kim was lashing out at a U.S. push to drain him of the hard currency he needs to develop his nuclear program that Russia and China reluctantly signed on to last weekend.
The sanctions put a hard stop to a third of North Korea's export revenue - a deafening blow to the country's economy.
Trump celebrated the universal participation of Security Council countries in the sanctions with a tweet this morning that said, 'After many years of failure,countries are coming together to finally address the dangers posed by North Korea. We must be tough & decisive!'
A Washington Post report later in the day suggested that North Korea had invented a miniaturized warhead that it has the capability of attaching to the intercontinental ballistic missiles its been testing.
The development brings the country dangerously close to its goal of creating of a nuclear weapon that can hit targets in the U.S.
Alaska, Hawaii and California would be at an especially high risk if Kim's scientists finish the weapons and North Korea decides to use them.
According to the report, US officials estimate that Kim now has 60 nuclear weapons in his possession. By comparison, the US is estimated to have more than 6,800 in its stockpile, and Russia is thought to have 7,000.
A Washington Post report earlier in the day suggested that North Korea had invented a miniaturized warhead that it has the capability of attaching to the intercontinental ballistic missiles its been testing.
Trump stopped just short of a firm promise to declare war on Kim's government if the dictatorship continues to talk about 'physical action' to the U.S. during the meeting in New Jersey with Kellyanne Conway (left), HHS Secretary Tom Price, (second left), Melania Trump (second right) and the National Drug Control Policy Center's Richard Baum (right)
Shortly after Trump's morning message, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley appeared on Fox & Friends to deliver tough talk to North Korea and take a victory lap on sanctions.
'The United States will respond accordingly, and I think the international community will respond accordingly,' she said of the dangerous actions that Kim could take in response to the punishing actions.
It's up to North Korean leader to decide whether his response is, 'OK the international community is telling me to stop or he is going to have, you know, a temper tantrum,' she'd said.
Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy worried that Kim is rejecting the international mandate. 'It sounds like, we are getting closer to a shootin' war,' he told Haley.
'But we don't run scared,' Haley asserted. 'This had to happen, we had to go after his hard currency, we had to stop it.'
'How he responds? He's now going to have to think what's the end game? Is he really going to come after the United States knowing what the United States can do back? He's gotta make that calculation,' the high-ranking U.S. diplomat assessed.
On Monday, North Korea promised to 'teach the US a severe lesson' if it puts its military might to the test on the Korean Peninsula.
'We will, under no circumstances, put the nukes and ballistic rockets on the negotiating table,' North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said, effectively declining to engage in talks about the nuclear program.
State-run KCNA news agency meanwhile claimed that North Korea 'will make the US pay dearly for all the heinous crimes it commits against the state and people of this country.'
KCNA cautioned the U.S. against 'believing that its land is safe across the ocean' in what it described as a 'stern warning to the US.'
Tuesday it slapped the U.S. again, saying in a statement that appeared in the New York Times: 'Packs of wolves are coming in attack to strangle a nation...They should be mindful that the D.P.R.K.’s strategic steps accompanied by physical action will be taken mercilessly with the mobilization of all its national strength.'
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, 33, warned that the United States would 'pay dearly' for the United Nations sanctions regime it successfully imposed over the weekend and hinted at 'physical action' as tensions continued to escalate
Kim is fuming over a United Nations Security Council resolution that will cut a billion out of his $3 billion economy annually. The resolution bans North Korea exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood and blocks off other cash-rich avenues, including joint ventures.
The U.S. pushed the resolution through the Security Council on Saturday with the aid of Russia and China, North Korea's largest trading partner.
'Yes, China and Russia were not the easiest, but at the end of the day they came through, and that's all that matters,' Haley said this morning on Fox & Friends of the vote to put heavy penalties on North Korea over its continued nuclear tests.
China favors deconfliction with North Korea and denuclearization of the Korean peninsula but not the displacement of Kim. Beijing is concerned that a coup would put the country's stockpile of weapons in nefarious hands.
It joined the U.S. and 13 other nations that sit on the Security Council in approving new sanctions on North Korea, a nation with whom it shares a border, after Washington threatened to restrict access to its financial institutions last week.
Shortly after the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley appeared on Fox & Friends to deliver to more tough talk to North Korea
North Korea's ramped up missile tests since Trump took office has the United States pursuing aggressive measures in the region, including Chinese sanctions.
Military action remains on the table on, as well, sparking fears internationally that the conflict will result in war.
A rising number of Republicans - 48 percent - want Trump to go that route. That's a jump from 37 percent in an April CBS News poll.
A majority of Americans are fearful that Trump is not equipped to go to battle with Kim, though. In the CBS survey, 61 percent of voters expressed doubts.
Most do not think North Korea will actually try to strike the U.S. with one of the intercontinental ballistic missiles it's been testing, however.
Nearly seven in 10 Americans think Kim is using the nuclear program to gain power and influence.
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