Australia and China ready to jump in if US-North Korean war goes beyond words
Australia ‘joined at the hip’ with US, China says it will not sit back and watch if the US attacks, and Japan has moved missile interceptors to prepare for possible assault on Guam
Canberra/Hong Kong — Asia is bracing for further provocation in the escalating war of words between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Australia would back the US if North Korea attacked, while the Communist Party-linked Global Times said China should prevent the US and South Korea from overthrowing Kim. Japan, meanwhile, moved missile interceptors into place after North Korea threatened to fire rockets at Guam, the Nikkei newspaper reported. "The US has no stronger ally than Australia," Turnbull said in a radio interview on Friday. "In terms of defence, we are joined at the hip." Trump is ramping up pressure on North Korea, cautioning Kim’s regime against following through on threats to fire missiles near Guam and vowing "fire and fury" if he keeps provoking the US. On Thursday, the president doubled down on the rhetoric, saying Kim "should be very nervous" and suggesting the earlier warning did not go far enough. Som...
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