TOKYO -- A top U.S. Navy commander on Wednesday warned Pyongyang not to underestimate America's readiness to take action in response to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's weekly provocations that seem to signal he was either self-destructive or that he did not believe the U.S. would retaliate with military force.
"If he thinks he knows that [the U.S. will not take action], he is not listening," U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Scott Swift told the Nikkei Asian Review in an interview in Tokyo. "Secretary [of Defense, James] Mattis has made it clear, and the President [Donald Trump] has made it clear, all options are on the table."
