North Korea Threatens ‘Merciless Punishment’ On US After Trump’s ‘Foolish Remarks’

North Korea has condemned President Donald Trump’s harsh rhetoric against their leader Kim Jong-un during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe on Sunday.

Trump is on a 12-day Asia trip which kicked off in Japan. The visit would see the president discuss the escalating nuclear threat from Pyongyang as part of international dialogue between him and the respective world leaders. A couple of days before the POTUS is scheduled to land in South Korea, he held an official press meet with Abe to address the ever-growing threats of war from Kim’s regime.

“We are working to counter the dangerous aggressions of the regime in North Korea,” Trump said, according to Express. “The regime continues development of its unlawful weapons programs including its illegal nuclear tests and outrageous launches of ballistic missiles directly over Japanese territory are a threat to the civilized world and international peace and stability. We will not stand for that, the era of strategic patience is over.”

“Some people said that my rhetoric is very strong, but look what’s happened with very weak rhetoric over the last 25 years, look where we are right now,” he added.

Trump did not wait for an official address to launch a verbal attack against North Korea. As soon as he set foot on the Yokota Air Base west of Tokyo, Japan, the president made his primary agenda behind his visit clear.

Addressing the U.S. military personnel stationed at the Japanese air base, Trump warned "no one, no dictator, no regime... should underestimate American resolve."

"Together with our allies, America’s warriors are prepared to defend our nation using the full range of our unmatched capabilities… every once in a while, in the past, they underestimated us. It was not pleasant for them, was it? It was not pleasant," he further added, VOA News reported.

After Trump’s speech at the air base, the South Korea’s state news agency Yonhap reported North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) had condemned the “foolish remarks” made by the president in the Japanese air base.

"Nobody can predict when Trump does a reckless act. The only and one way for checking his rash act is to tame him with absolute physical power," KCNA's report said. "If the U.S. misjudges (North Korea's) toughest will and dares to act recklessly, the latter will be compelled to deal a resolute and merciless punishment upon the former with the mobilization of all forces. The U.S. has no energy to prevent it. Then its regret is too late."

Meanwhile, South Korea has also begun tightening its measures against the Pyongyang by implementing sanctions against 18 North Koreans. Those sanctioned were banned from having any trade deals with South Korea. This is part of South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s efforts to sever ties so that North Korea cannot financially benefit from the very countries it threatened to destroy.

“They are all people at North Korean financial institutions that have already been sanctioned by the United Nations,” an anonymous government official said, Asian Correspondent reported. “They’re high-ranking employees who have been linked to North Korea’s nuclear and missile development program as well as the North’s foreign exchange procurement efforts.”