Trump threatens North Korea with 'fire and fury'

President Trump escalated his war of words with North Korea on Thursday by declaring that his provocative threat to rain down “fire and fury” might not have been harsh enough, as nuclear tensions between the two nations continued to crackle. Rejecting critics at home and abroad who condemned his earlier warning as reckless saber-rattling, Mr. Trump said North Korea and its volatile leader, Kim Jong-un, have pushed the United States and the rest of the world for too long.

Mr. Trump noted that North Korea, which has made significant progress toward developing long-range nuclear weapons, responded to his original warning by threatening to launch a missile strike toward the Pacific island of Guam, an American territory and strategic base. “If he does something in Guam, it will be an event the likes of which nobody has seen before, what will happen in North Korea,” he said.

China has warned the US and North Korea not to "play with fire" amid escalating tensions between the two countries.

State media urged for careful dialogue to defuse the nuclear stand-off after Donald Trump vowed to unleash "fire and fury" in response to threats from Pyongyang.

North Korea dismissed the US President's warning as "a load of nonsense" and outlined plans to launch four missiles towards the US territory of Guam as the war of words intensified. 

China should remain neutral if North Korea launches an attack that threatens the United States, a Chinese state-run newspaper said on Friday, sounding a warning for Pyongyang over its plans to fire missiles near the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam.

The comments from the influential Global Times came after U.S. President Donald Trump stepped up his rhetoric against North Korea again on Thursday, saying his earlier threat to unleash "fire and fury" on Pyongyang if it launched an attack may not have been tough enough.

Asian equity markets sank again on Friday and European stocks looked set for their worst week this year because of the tensions.

China, North Korea's most important ally and trading partner, has reiterated calls for calm during the current crisis. Beijing has expressed frustration with both Pyongyang's repeated nuclear and missile tests and with behavior from South Korea and the United States, such as military drills, that it sees as escalating tensions.

China should also make clear that if North Korea launches missiles that threaten U.S. soil first and the U.S. retaliates, China will stay neutral.

Trump said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was not going to get away with his "horrific" comments and disrespecting America.

The United States and South Korea remain technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.

Japan is also building up missile defenses and is considering the acquisition of munitions that would allow it to strike at North Korean missile sites.