President Donald Trump commented Tuesday on reports that North Korea launched another ballistic missile, saying the United States would handle the situation but offering no details about strategy.
“We will take care of it,” Trump said. “It is a situation that we will handle.”
Trump said the United States’ approach to North Korea has not changed.
South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said Tuesday that “North Korea launched an unidentified ballistic missile eastward from the vicinity of Pyongsong, South Pyongan Province, at dawn today,” according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.
This is the first test since Sept. 15, when North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan. Reports from the Japanese government about the timing and distance of this new launch suggest it was North Korea’s longest missile test yet.
“Such a missile would have more than enough range to reach Washington, DC, and in fact any part of the continental United States,” the Union of Concerned Scientists said.
While speaking to reporters Tuesday, Trump suggested the missile launch should prompt Democratic leaders to meet with him, something they avoided doing earlier in the day after Trump criticized them on Twitter.
“They should be calling immediately and saying we want to see you, but probably they won’t because nothing to them is important other than raising taxes,” Trump said, referring to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Trump has made hostile remarks about Pyongyang and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un throughout his presidency, vowing to use “fire and fury” against the country if necessary.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also weighed in on North Korea on Tuesday, saying the U.S. “strongly condemns” the missile launch but noting “diplomatic options remain viable and open, for now.”