President Donald Trump said Friday that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un would "regret it fast" if he continued his threats against the U.S. or attacked the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam.
It was the latest heated remark in the escalating rhetoric from Trump toward the rogue nuclear state.
Trump said North Korea would be met with "fire and fury" this week if it made any further threats toward the United States or its allies. When North Korea, which has miniaturized a nuclear weapon, indicated it would attack the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, Trump said Thursday that his "fury" remarks had perhaps not been "tough enough."
Earlier on Friday, Trump tweeted the U.S. was "locked and loaded" with a military solution, adding he hoped North Korea would "find another path."
Asked about critics of his remarks, Trump said there were "tens of millions of people" in the U.S. who were applauding him for sticking up for the U.S. and its allies.
Trump said North Korea's leader "will not get away with what he's doing."
"If he utters one threat, in the form of an overt threat ... or if he does anything with respect to Guam or any place else that's an American territory or an American ally, he will truly regret it, and he will regret it fast," Trump said.
While Trump has used strong rhetoric against the North Koreans, others in his administration have urged a lighter approach. Defense Secretary James Mattis said war would be "catastrophic" and diplomacy remains the favored means of resolving the latest standoff with the rogue nation.