The North Korean government on Thursday delivered a starkly worded threat to the U.S. via a state-run newspaper. "In the case of our super-mighty preemptive strike being launched, it will completely and immediately wipe out not only U.S. imperialists' invasion forces in South Korea and its surrounding areas but the U.S. mainland and reduce them to ashes," wrote North Korea's ruling Workers' Party in its official newspaper, The Rodong Sinmun.
The warning, which Politico noted is "in line with past bellicose threats made by the North Korean government," follows vows from several members of the Trump administration to increase pressure on North Korea over its nuclear weapons testing. North Korea has recently ramped up its military activity and attempted two nuclear missile tests, though its most recent test on Sunday failed.