- The back-and-forth between the US and North Korea has devolved into a full blown tit-for-tat as Washington and Pyongyang issue escalating, and competing, warnings.
- Experts say Trump's rhetoric will likely prompt North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to double down further.
- One expert said the rhetoric might heighten North Korea's fears that it is in a 'use 'em or lose 'em" position with respect to its missiles.
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Experts say Trump is giving North Korea the excuse it needs to cling to its nuclear weapons program
The back-and-forth between the US and North Korea that began with a Washington Post report about Pyongyang's ability to miniaturize nuclear weapons developed into a full blown tit-for-tat.
Pyongyang on Wednesday — which was itself a response to Trump's initial "fire and fury" remark — in which the Hermit kingdom threatened to attack Guam.
Just before Trump spoke to reporters on Thursday, North Korea warned in a new statement that th
"Pyongyang knows that any use of a nuclear weapon would mean the end of the regime," Roehrig said on Thursday. But he added that the use of force by the United States would be "incredibly dangerous" given the South Korean capitol's proximity to the North Korean border.
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"We need to tone down the rhetoric and recognize that this is largely about deterrence," Roehrig said. "North Korea will continue to be deterred from an assault on South Korea as they have for the past 60-plus years, and Pyongyang's chief goal is to deter the United States from a regime-change operation."
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