North Korea’s “reckless behaviour” is a global threat and requires a global response, the head of the NATO military alliance said on Sunday
Asked in an interview with BBC television, whether an attack on the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam would trigger NATO’s Article 5, which requires each member of the alliance to come to the defence of any other, NATO head Jens Stoltenberg said he would not speculate about whether it will be applied in such a situation.
NATO has not been directly involved in the crisis, which saw Pyongyang carry out its sixth and most powerful nuclear test a week ago, but has repeatedly called on North Korea to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
British defence minister Michael Fallon also told the BBC he was very concerned about the situation and said the military conflict should be avoided at all costs.
The United States and its allies had been bracing for another long-range missile launch in time for the 69th anniversary of North Korea’s founding on Saturday, but no fresh events were spotted while the North held numerous events to mark the holiday.