North Korea said on Saturday that firing its rockets at the U.S. mainland was “inevitable” after U.S. President Donald Trump called Pyongyang’s leader “rocket man,” in a further escalation of rhetoric between the two leaders. Trump announced new U.S. sanctions on Thursday that he said allow targeting of companies and institutions that finance and facilitate trade with North Korea. An official of South Korea’s Meteorological Agency said acoustic waves should be detected in the event of a man-made earthquake. All of North Korea’s six nuclear tests registered as earthquakes of magnitude 4.3 or above. Trump told the U.N. on Tuesday the United States would “totally destroy” North Korea if it threatened the United States or its allies.

Source: Huffington Post September 23, 2017 18:54 UTC