N. KOREA-U.S. TENSION CONTINUES

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North Korea continues to lash out at U.S. President Donald Trump for mentioning the possibility of using military force against the North and calling Kim Jong-un "Rocket Man." Even the North's First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choe Son-hui joined in to criticize the U.S. leader. She stressed that should similar remarks be made in the future, Pyongyang will respond with its own harsh language.

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North Korea's First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs issued a statement regarding U.S. President Donald Trump's recent remarks on the possibility of using military force against the regime and calling Kim Jong-un "Rocket Man." It's Pyongyang's second statement following the one issued by the chief of staff of the North Korean Army, Pak Jong-chon. In the statement, Choe Son-hui expressed strong discontent over the U.S. leader's remarks and metaphors used. She emphasized that if Trump's words were intentional and deliberate, that would be problematic and can be considered a very dangerous provocation. Choe vowed to respond with harsh language if the U.S. leader uses similar expressions again, an act which the regime will interprete as calculated provocation. The North Korean diplomat pointed out that if Donald Trump keeps making such remarks, he would have to be diagnosed with being a "dotard," an insulting word that the communist state used in the past. However, to emphasize friendship between the two leaders, Choe mentioned it would be a relief to know what Trump said was just a slip of the tongue, adding that Kim Jong-un has not commented on his American counterpart yet since the controversial remarks were made. Unlike the chief of staff of the North Korean Army, who threatened to reciprocate with force, Choe Son-hui vowed to respond with harsh language. Pyongyang has been lashing out at Donald Trump for two days in a row now, but it seems to be refraining from making remarks that could be considered too provocative.