FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/UN: “North Korea on Monday [8-7-17] threatened to use nuclear weapons against the U.S. if provoked militarily and said it would ‘under no circumstances’ negotiate on its nuclear and missile weapons programs.
In a written statement handed to reporters on the sidelines of a regional security forum in Manila, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said the regime had developed nuclear weapons as a legitimate option for self-defense ‘in the face of a clear and real nuclear threat posed by the U.S.’
He said the U.S. had sought United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang in an effort to disguise a conflict with the regime as an international issue. The world was ‘becoming gradually aware of the danger’ of President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ policy of prioritizing U.S. interests in international affairs, Mr. Ri added.
Mr. Ri was participating in a security summit in Manila that was also attended by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The U.S. has sought to build momentum in Asia to enforce a round of sanctions passed over the weekend by the U.N. Security Council.”
-Jake Maxwell Watts and Ben Otto, “North Korea Says ‘Under No Circumstances’ Will It Negotiate Over Nuclear Weapons,” The Wall Street Journal online, Aug. 7, 2017 08:07am