The editor-in-chief of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists said he believes there is “a danger” to President Trump’s tweets on North Korea.
“They increase the probability that North Korea will misinterpret normal military exercises as an attack and respond with force. This could result in a back-and-forth series of military actions that might — actually, really — lead to worldwide thermonuclear war and the end of the human experiment,” John Mecklin said, according to Poynter.
“This is a real possibility. This is why President Trump’s tweets about North Korea are, in my opinion, an existential threat to humanity.”
{mosads}The Bulletin is known for its “Doomsday Clock.” It “informs the public about risks from nuclear weapons, climate change, & emerging technologies,” according to its Twitter account.
Trump on Tuesday tweeted that the nuclear launch button on his desk is “much bigger” and “more powerful” than that of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the ‘Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times,’ ” Trump tweeted.
“Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!”
His comments came after Kim said in a New Year’s Day speech that he had a nuclear launch button at his desk and that the international community would have to accept North Korea’s status as a nuclear-armed nation as a “reality.”
In a tweet earlier Tuesday, Trump said sanctions and other pressures were starting to “have a big impact on North Korea.”
“Soldiers are dangerously fleeing to South Korea,” Trump tweeted. “Rocket man now wants to talk to South Korea for first time. Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not — we will see!”