clarification
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reassures Americans there is no 'imminent threat' from North Korea
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Americans that there is not thought to be "any imminent threat" from North Korea during his scheduled refueling stop in Guam while traveling back to the mainland United States on Wednesday, The Associated Press reports. "Americans should sleep well at night," Tillerson added in a calm contrast to President Trump's threat of raining "fire and fury" down on North Korea on Tuesday.
Addressing Trump's comments, Tillerson said the president was "sending a strong message to North Korea in language that Kim Jong Un can understand, because he doesn't seem to understand diplomatic language. I think the president just wanted to be clear to the North Korean regime on the U.S. unquestionable ability to defend itself, will defend itself and its allies."
Not everyone thinks that message was so clear, though. "It's hard to think of a president using more extreme language during crisis like this before," presidential historian Michael Beschloss told The New York Times. "Presidents usually try to use language that is even more moderate than what they may be feeling in private, because they've always been worried that their language might escalate a crisis."