North Korea Boosts Defenses on Coasts After US Bomber Flyby

In this image made from video released by KRT North Korea launches four missiles in an undisclosed location North Korea on March 7, 2017. On Monday, North Korea fired four ballistic missiles in an apparent protest against ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. KRT via AP Video

North Korea has boosted defenses on its east coast, a South Korean lawmaker said on Tuesday, after Pyongyang said U.S. President Donald Trump had declared war and that it would shoot down U.S. bombers flying near the peninsula.

Tensions have escalated since reclusive North Korea conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said on Monday that Trump’s Twitter comments that leader Kim Jong Un and Ri “won’t be around much longer” if they acted on their threats amounted to a declaration of war and that Pyongyang had the right to take countermeasures.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders dismissed the claims by the North on Monday that the U.S. had declared war.

“We’ve not declared war on North Korea. And frankly, the suggestion of that is absurd,” Sanders said at a White House press briefing.

South Korean lawmaker Lee Cheol-uoo, briefed by the country’s spy agency, said North Korea was bolstering its defenses by moving aircraft to its east coast and taking other measures after U.S. bombers flew close to the Korean peninsula last weekend.