'All options on the table' as North Korea accuses Trump of declaring war

Ri Yong-ho said Pyongyang reserved the right to shoot down US bombers, including those flying outside North Korean airspace

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Jong-Ho
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Jong-Ho

North Korea’s foreign minister Ri Yong-ho has said that US president Donald Trump’s remarks about his countries amounted to a declaration of war, and that Pyongyang reserved the right to shoot down US bombers.

Ri said that this also applied to bombers flying outside of North Korean airspace, insisting the world should remember it was the US that first declared war.

"In light of the declaration of war by Trump, all options will be on the operating table of the Supreme leadership of DPRK," Ri said, according to his official English translator.

The statement comes after months of tensions and an escalation in the rhetoric used by both sides.

Following Ri’s speech at the United Nations on Saturday, Trump said in a tweet that “if [Ri] echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man (Kim Jong-Un), they won’t be around much longer”.