President Trump on Wednesday said North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, made a good decision after the nation backed off from a threat to fire missiles toward the U.S. territory of Guam.
“Kim Jong Un of North Korea made a very wise and well reasoned decision,” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning.
“The alternative would have been both catastrophic and unacceptable!”
The comments come after a report earlier this week said North Korea’s leader said he decided not to launch an attack, but warned he could change his mind.
“If the Yankees persist in their extremely dangerous reckless actions on the Korean Peninsula and in its vicinity, testing the restraint of the DPRK [North Korea], the [North] will make an important decision as it already declared,” Kim said, according to the country’s state media.
Trump in recent weeks had intensified his rhetoric toward North Korea.
He warned earlier this month the country would face “fire and fury” if it continued to threaten the U.S. and its allies.
{mosads}North Korea responded by threatening an attack on Guam.
Trump also tweeted earlier this month that military solutions in the U.S. are “fully in place,locked and loaded,should North Korea act unwisely.”
Earlier this week, Defense Secretary James Mattis warned that if a missile were to hit U.S. territory, it would be treated as an act of war.
“If they shoot at the United States, I’m assuming they hit the United States. If they do that, it’s game on,” he said.