Tokyo’s subway system briefly shut down Saturday as a safety precaution after North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile in defiance of a US push for tougher global sanctions.
The test failed, but tensions mounted as the United States and South Korea embarked on military drills.
Asked how he’d react if Pyongyang tests a nuclear to weapon, President Trump said he “will not be happy.’’
He was asked during an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation’’ set to air Sunday, if he’d respond with military force. “I don’t know,’’ he said. “We’ll see.’’
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called North Korea’s move “absolutely unacceptable.”
“There is a major crisis looming over the peace and prosperity of the world,” he told reporters in London at the end of a three-day visit to Russia and Britain. “The international community must display solidarity.”
Abe added that he agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russia, China, Japan, the United States and South Korea all need to cooperate closely on the issue.
Saturday’s subway shutdown was the first on the Tokyo Metro under new rules calling for safety checks in response to news of the launching of any missile that could potentially hit Japan.
The trains were stopped about a half hour after the missile launch and at the beginning of the annual Golden Week, a series of national holidays. About 130,000 people were affected, Kyodo News said.
North Korea fired its missile just hours after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned the UN Security Council of “catastrophic consequences” if the international community, particularly China, fails to pressure the North into abandoning its weapons program.
China is thought to have leverage over North Korea because it accounts for 90 percent of the isolated nation’s trade.
Separately, the president of the Philippines called on the United States to show restraint and not play into the hands of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, because he “wants to end the world”
Meanwhile Saturday, the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier kicked off a joint drill with the South Korean navy.
The drill is intended to verify the allies’ capability to track and intercept enemy ballistic missiles, a Navy spokesman said. The drill will also include a live-fire exercise and anti-submarine maneuvers.
Trump has warned of a possible “major conflict” with North Korea, and insisted that “all options are on the table” to stop its nuclear drive.
With Post Wire Services