Anchor: North Korea says a Twitter message posted by U.S. President Donald Trump was is in fact a declaration of war and said it will defend itself by shooting down American bombers if necessary. The White House called the claim absurd. 
Alannah Hill has the details.
 
Report: North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho says that U.S. President Donald Trump has declared war against his country.
 
[Sound bite: North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho (Korean)]
"As you already know, for the last few days the United Nations and the international community sincerely wished that the war of words between the DPRK and the United States does not turn into real actions."
"However, last weekend Trump once again said that our leadership will not last, making a declaration of war."
 
Ri's comments were a response to Trump's Saturday tweet that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his regime "won't be around much longer."
 
Speaking in New York on Monday after attending the UN General Assembly, the minister also said that since the U.S. has declared war, his country will have every right to make counter-measures, including the right to shoot down U.S. strategic bombers even when they do not fly into its airspace.
 
The White House quickly tried to de-escalate the situation. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said during a news briefing on Monday that the U.S. has not declared war.
 
[Sound bite: White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders]
"We've not declared war on North Korea and frankly the suggestion of that is absurd." 
 
Sanders added that it's never appropriate for a country to shoot down another country's aircraft when it's over international waters.
 
[Sound bite: White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders]
"Our goal is still the same. We continue to seek the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. That's our focus. Doing that through both the most maximum economic and diplomatic pressures is possible at this point."
 
The Pentagon, however, warned that if North Korea does not stop its provocative actions, it will provide options to the president to deal with the isolated country.
Alannah Hill, KBS World Radio News. 

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