So much for Rex Tillerson's tepid attempt to de-escalate Trump's "fire and fury" statement.
Moments ago, the state run-KCNA news agency issued a statement in which it cited a commander of the Korean People's Army according to whom President Donald Trump's threat was a "load of nonsense," it failed to grasp the "grave situation," and said that "sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him," referring to Trump’s comments about unleashing "fire and fury."
Reaffirming its intentions to strike Guam, N. Korea said it is "seriously examining the plan for an enveloping strike at Guam through simultaneous fire of four Hwasong-12 intermediate-range strategic ballistic rockets in order to interdict the enemy forces on major military bases on Guam and to signal a crucial warning to the U.S." Noting that it is getting exhausted and angry with Trump's "load of nonsense", the General said that Trump's threats are "extremely getting on the nerves of the infuriated Hwasong artillerymen of the KPA."
"The KPA Strategic Force will finally complete the plan until mid August and report it to the commander-in-chief of the DPRK nuclear force and wait for his order" and N. Korea will closely watch U.S. "speech and behavior."
Turning the tables on Trump's statement that only harsh language can work on Kim Jong Un, N.Korea responded that "sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him."
The North Korean statement also says the military action its army "is about to take" will be effective for restraining America's "frantic moves" in and near the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. Hinting that Pyongyang will continue planning an attack, the General adds that "the military action the KPA is about to take will be an effective remedy for restraining the frantic moves of the U.S. in the southern part of the Korean peninsula and its vicinity. "
It said that North Korea will complete a plan by mid-August for the "historic enveloping fire at Guam," convey it to the commander in chief of its nuclear force and then "wait for his order." North Korea says it will "keep closely watching the speech and behavior of the U.S." The army General explains that "this unprecedented step is to give stronger confidence in certain victory and courage to the Korean people and help them witness the wretched plight of the U.S. imperialists."
And, in a surprising tangent, the statement goes so far as to give details of the flight plan its ICBMs will take, which will be right above Japan, hardly a detail that Tokyo will be excited about:
The Hwasong-12 rockets to be launched by the KPA will cross the sky above Shimane, Hiroshima and Koichi Prefectures of Japan. They will fly 3 356.7 km for 1 065 seconds and hit the waters 30 to 40 km away from Guam.
Finally, the KPA Strategic Force said it will finally complete the Guam attack plan by mid-August, so it may be the case that North Korea will launch one if not more Hwasong-12 rockets in the coming weeks.
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The full KCNA statement is below:
Pyongyang, August 10 (KCNA) General Kim Rak Gyom, commander of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army, released the following statement on August 9:
As already clarified, the Strategic Force of the KPA is seriously examining the plan for an enveloping strike at Guam through simultaneous fire of four Hwasong-12 intermediate-range strategic ballistic rockets in order to interdict the enemy forces on major military bases on Guam and to signal a crucial warning to the U.S.
On Tuesday, the KPA Strategic Force through a statement of its spokesman fully warned the U.S. against its all-round sanctions on the DPRK and moves of maximizing military threats to it. But the U.S. president at a gold links again let out a load of nonsense about "fire and fury," failing to grasp the on-going grave situation. This is extremely getting on the nerves of the infuriated Hwasong artillerymen of the KPA.
It seems that he has not yet understood the statement.
Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him. This is the judgment made by the service personnel of the KPA Strategic Force.
The military action the KPA is about to take will be an effective remedy for restraining the frantic moves of the U.S. in the southern part of the Korean peninsula and its vicinity.
The Hwasong artillerymen of the KPA Strategic Force are replete with a strong determination to fully demonstrate once again the invincible might of the force, which has developed into a reliable nuclear force of the Workers' Party of Korea and the world, strongest strike service, through the planned enveloping strike targeting the U.S. imperialist bases of aggression.
The Strategic Force is also considering the plan for opening to public the historic enveloping fire at Guam, a practical action targeting the U.S. bases of aggression.
This unprecedented step is to give stronger confidence in certain victory and courage to the Korean people and help them witness the wretched plight of the U.S. imperialists.
The Hwasong-12 rockets to be launched by the KPA will cross the sky above Shimane, Hiroshima and Koichi Prefectures of Japan. They will fly 3356.7 km for 1065 seconds and hit the waters 30 to 40 km away from Guam.
The KPA Strategic Force will finally complete the plan until mid August and report it to the commander-in-chief of the DPRK nuclear force and wait for his order.
We keep closely watching the speech and behavior of the U.S.
The bottom line is that while Trump expects Kim to relent, the North Korean leader clearly has no plans to do that, and demands the same from Trump, which also won't happen. How this crisis is resolved in a peaceful, diplomatic way under these conditions remains unknown, if not impossible.