"The U.S. is running amok by introducing under our nose the targets we have set as primary ones. The U.S. should expect it would face unimaginable strike at an unimaginable time," the North's Korean Central News Agency said Thursday.
The "targets" under North Korea's "nose" refer to joint U.S. and South Korean drills in waters off the Korean Peninsula with the U.S. aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan.
The military exercises run through Oct. 26. and come as President Trump has threatened to "totally destroy" North Korea if the reclusive state resorts to using weapons against the U.S. or its allies. Pyongyang has repeatedly used dramatic language to threaten Washington. Trump has responded with inflammatory rhetoric.North Korea fired two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July and conducted its sixth, and most powerful, nuclear test last month. Experts disagree on how advanced its weapons program is, and whether it would match its words with action. Diplomats from the U.S., South Korea and Japan met in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss how to respond to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan said Washington views diplomacy as the primary means for solving the crisis, but it must be prepared for "any eventuality."
According to a new NBC News/SurveyMonkey poll published Thursday, a majority of Americans (54%) — Republicans and Democrats — view North Korea as the most immediate threat to the country. That represents a shift since July, when 41% of Americans viewed North Korea as the greatest immediate threat. The Islamic State terror group came in second, at 19%, down from 28% in July.
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