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US President Donald Trump warned North Korea "do not underestimate us and do not try us" as he vowed the United States would defend itself and its allies against Pyongyang's nuclear threat.
Key points:
- Donald Trump says the US will defend itself against nuclear threat
- Fog frustrates Mr Trump's attempt to make unannounced visit to DMZ
- Mr Trump speaks to South Korean lawmakers before leaving for China
Mr Trump issued the stern message to North Korea, adding Washington "will not be intimidated", as he wrapped up a visit to South Korea with a speech to the National Assembly in Seoul.
He urged countries around the world to join together to isolate Pyongyang by denying it "any form of support, supply or acceptance".
"We will not allow American cities to be threatened with destruction. We will not be intimidated," he told South Korean politicians.
"And we will not let the worst atrocities in history be repeated here, on this ground we fought and died to secure.
"The world cannot tolerate the menace of a rogue regime that threatens it with nuclear devastation."
Mr Trump returned to tough talk against North Korea a day after he appeared to dial back some of his bellicose rhetoric and instead took more of a carrot-and-stick approach.
He warned Pyongyang on Tuesday of the US military build-up he has ordered in the area but also offered it a diplomatic opening to "make a deal".
Trump 'disappointed and frustrated' by aborted visit
The speech came after Mr Trump's attempt to make an unannounced visit to the heavily fortified border separating North and South Korea was aborted earlier on Wednesday when dense fog prevented his helicopter from landing, officials said.
Mr Trump tried to travel to the demilitarised zone (DMZ) — the doorstep of the North Korean nuclear stand-off — during his 24-hour visit to ally Seoul.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders described Mr Trump as disappointed and frustrated at having to abandon the visit.
A visit to the DMZ, despite Mr Trump's aides' earlier insistence he had no plans to go there, would have had the potential to further inflame tensions with North Korea.
The President's earlier threats to "totally destroy" North Korea if it threatened the United States, and the personal insults he exchanged with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after the North's most recent missile and nuclear tests, had raised fears of military conflict in the region.
Mr Trump was due to fly to China, where US officials said he would press a reluctant President Xi Jinping to tighten the screws further on Pyongyang.
Reuters
Topics: world-politics, foreign-affairs, donald-trump, government-and-politics, korea-republic-of, korea-democratic-peoples-republic-of, united-states
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