White House Warns North Korea Over 'Christmas Gift' Threat, Says Would Consider 'Other Tools’

The White House on Sunday warned North Korea over “Christmas gift” threat, saying it would consider ‘other tools’ beyond personal diplomacy. Earlier, North Korea had threatened America with “Christmas gift”, if Washington did not drop its ‘hostile policy’ towards Pyongyang.

According to experts, North Korea’s Christmas Gift can likely be a long-range missile test. When asked about the consequences of such a test by American media, White House national security advisor Robert O’Brien said he did not want to speculate.

However, he said, “But we have a lot of tools in our toolkit, and additional pressure can be brought to bear on the North Koreans.” He added that North Korea’s Nuclear Programme is the “most difficult challenge in the world”.

He maintained that US President Donald Trump’s face-to-face diplomacy might have compelled the North Korean dictator into rethink. Talks on denuclearization between the United States and North Korea have been largely deadlocked after the second summit between Trump and Kim in Hanoi collapsed.

Earlier, Trump had told reporters, “We’ll find out what the surprise is and we’ll deal with it very successfully.” “Maybe it’s a nice present, maybe it’s a present where he sends me a beautiful vase as opposed to a missile test,” the president joked.

(With inputs from agencies)