North Korea Threatens With Hydrogen Bomb In Reaction To Trump’s ‘Declaration Of War’

Washington: Tension between the US and North Korea on Monday came to a flash point with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho declaring that his country has the right to shoot down US warplanes. The minister's statement has come days after US warplanes flew close to North Korea's coast. "The whole world should clearly remember it was the US who first declared war on our country," Ri said.

The tension escalated after Trump tweeted on Sunday addressing North Korea, "If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won't be around much longer!"

However, the White House denied that the US had declared war on Pyongyang. "We have not declared war on North Korea and frankly the suggestion of that is absurd," White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said. "Our goal is still the same. We continue to seek the peaceful denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula," she added. US President Donald Trump also talked tough on the DPRK.

In his first speech at the UN General Assembly on September 19, Trump threatened that the US "will have no choice than to totally destroy" the country unless Pyongyang refrains from its nuclear tests and missile launches. Two days later, Trump also signed a new order to ramp up sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). In response, DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un vowed to retaliate, saying Trump "will face results beyond his expectation." In a statement released on Friday, Kim said "I am now thinking hard about what response he could have expected when he allowed such eccentric words to trip off his tongue," according to the official Korean Central News Agency. Kim also accused Trump of uttering "unprecedented rude nonsense that one has never heard from any of his predecessors," saying the threat to "totally destroy" a sovereign state has gone beyond the limit.

US Supreme Court cancels travel ban oral arguments

The US Supreme Court has said that it would not hear oral arguments on President Donald Trump's travel ban as scheduled for October 10. According to Monday's order, the court wants to hear from both sides if the issue is moot after Trump issued a proclamation on Sunday restricting the entry for the citizens of eight countries - Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad, Venezuela, North Korea -- replacing the previous ban on six Muslim-majority countries, citing threats to national security.

Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco filed a letter with the Supreme Court "respectfully suggesting" that the justices request supplemental briefs from both sides by October 5 because of the new restrictions the President has outlined.