New World ‘War’? US, Syria, North Korea, Russia Rhetoric Ramps Up From Top Diplomats

Threats of armed conflict have broken out across the world in the past week, something that may have been exacerbated by the U.S. launching airstrikes against an air base in Syria in response to a chemical attack allegedly launched by the country's government that left dozens of civilians dead. As a result, top diplomats from the U.S., North Korea, Russia and Syria have ramped up their rhetoric to one another, including threatening what could turn into all-out war.

U.K. politician Jeremy Corbyn warned that there could be a "proxy war" between the U.S. and Russia because of the recent American military action in the sovereign Middle East nation, the BBC reported Monday. The Labour Party leader's comments came shortly before it was reported that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the U.K.'s top diplomat met Monday about imposing new sanctions on Russia.

Read: Russia Will Not Engage In Military Conflict With US, Russian Lawmaker Says

Russia has been aligned with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, which the U.S. has renewed an effort to end following the chemical attack ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump that also killed dozens of children. Assad responded to the U.S. airstrikes with apparent resolve, saying there was other "option except victory" in the Syrian civil war that has pitted rebel factions against the Bashar-controlled military.

Meanwhile, North Korea was likely preparing to launch a new nuclear missile test before the month ends, a top South Korean researcher said Monday. "The possibility of North Korea pushing ahead with a nuclear test before the (85th) anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army on April 25 cannot be ruled out," said Cheong Seong-chang, of the Sejong Institute, according to state owned media outlet Yonhap.

Cheong's comments came two days after the U.S. deployed an aircraft carrier to the Korean Peninsula in a move "designed to send a message to our allies and all the nations in the region," an unnamed military source told Navy Times.

However, unlike in Syria, Tillerson said his aim in North Korea was not "regime change," according to Bloomberg. Rather, stopping the country's nuclear program was a priority, he said.

"If you become a threat to others, at some point a response is likely to be undertaken," Tillerson said cryptically.