Trump threatens North Korea with 'pretty severe things' after ICBM test

(Image credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

On Thursday, at a joint appearance in Warsaw with Polish President Andrzej Duda, President Trump broadly warned North Korea with "some pretty severe things" in response to its "very, very bad behavior," presumably in regards to testing missiles and threatening the U.S. with an intercontinental ballistic missile. Trump said that because Pyongyang is behaving in a "very, very dangerous manner," it's clear that "something will have to be done about it." He did not elaborate.

On Wednesday, Trump's United Nations ambassador, Nikki Haley, accused Russia and China of "holding the hands" of North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, and hinted at a military strike, reminding the U.N. Security Council that "one of our capabilities lies with our considerable military forces." China probably won't be swayed by this show of rhetorical force. "It's not very likely that China will follow the will of the U.S. and put a 'heavy move' on North Korea, like what President Trump has called for," Deng Yuwen, a Chinese expert on North Korea, tells The Washington Post. "It would expand sanctions, but there is a bottom line and the bottom line is that it won't sanction North Korea such that it causes chaos in the North."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.