North Korea appears to have boosted defenses on its east coast, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said yesterday, after the North said U.S. President Donald Trump had declared war and that it would shoot down U.S. bombers flying near the peninsula.
President Donald Trump indicated again Tuesday a willingness to take military action with regard to North Korea, a day after that country's foreign minister accused the American president of declaring war.
Last week, China's central bank told the country's lenders to strictly implement United Nations sanctions against North Korea.
"That is called the military option".
Just a week after the president announced more sanctions on North Korea, the US slapped the nation again with sanctions, this time targeting banks.
Because North Korea has spent so much on its nuclear and ballistic missile program, its air force is weak.
Some Chinese banks have even gone beyond the new United Nations sanctions by declaring that they have suspended financial transactions for North Koreans.
"They're on a new binge of reaching out to American scholars and ex-officials", Mr Klingner said, adding that North Korea should approach the U.S. government directly if they wanted to "send a clear message".
For its part, China has called on both Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong-un to tone down their increasingly bellicose rhetoric and instead try to begin peace talks. China has ordered North Korean companies on the mainland to close down 120 days from the passing of the UN Security Council's latest set of sanctions on the regime.
"We have always believed that military means should not be an option to resolve the nuclear issue on the peninsula".
The mission in global airspace was said to show how seriously President Trump takes North Korea's "reckless behaviour".
The comments are the latest episode in the escalating war of words between the US and North Korea.
Bruce Bennett, a defense expert at the Rand Corp think tank, said North Korea would have difficulties shooting down a US bomber with missiles or fighter planes given its limited capabilities, and if it tried and failed, would appear weak.
Mr Trump has said he will not allow it, although the U.S. so far has not used military force.