The country’s Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said yesterday that the US President’s tweet claiming leader Kim Jong-un “won’t be around much longer” amounted to a declaration of war.
Despite the US rubbishing the response, fears are rising over the hermit state’s threat to shoot down any US bombers flying near the peninsula.
Now, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, the North is moving warplanes to the east coast.
South Korean lawmaker Lee Cheol-uoo, briefed by the country’s spy agency, said the reclusive North was bolstering its defences by moving aircraft to its east coast and taking other measures.
It comes after US Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers flew close to the Korea peninsula at the weekend in a show of strength.
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Mr Ri said on Monday his country had the right to shoot down US bombers “even when they are not inside the airspace border of our country”.
Speaking after the annual United Nations General Assembly, he said: “The whole world should clearly remember it was the US who first declared war on our country.
“The question of who won’t be around much longer will be answered then.”
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders denied on Monday that the United States had declared war, calling the suggestion “absurd”.
Tensions have escalated since North Korea conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on September 3, but the fiery rhetoric has reached a new level in recent days.
Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said war on the Korean peninsula would have no winner.
Mr Lu said: “We hope the US and North Korean politicians have sufficient political judgment to realise that resorting to military force will never be a viable way to resolve the peninsula issue and their own concerns.
“We also hope that both sides can realise that being bent on assertiveness and provoking each other will only increase the risk of conflict and reduce room for policy manoeuvres.
“War on the peninsula will have no winner.”
While repeatedly calling for dialogue to resolve the issue, China has also signed up for increasingly tough UN sanctions against North Korea.
In Moscow, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it was working behind the scenes to find a political solution and that using sanctions against North Korea was almost exhausted.
During a visit to India, US Defence Secretary James Mattis said diplomatic efforts to deal with the crisis were continuing.
He said: ”You have seen unanimous United Nations Security Council resolutions passed that have increased the pressure, economic pressure and diplomatic pressure, on the North.
“At the same time, we maintain the capability to deter North Korea’s most dangerous threats.”