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Reuters

After discussing Iran and North Korea with US military leaders on Thursday, US President Donald Trump posed for a photo with them before dinner and declared the moment “the calm before the storm.”
“You guys know what this represents?” Trump said after journalists gathered in the White House state dining room to photograph him and first lady Melania Trump with the uniformed military leaders and their spouses.
“Maybe it’s the calm before the storm,” he said.
What storm?
“You’ll find out,” Trump told questioning reporters.
North Korea warns of ‘nuclear clouds’ over Japan
Classical music played in the background and tables were set in the nearby Blue Room for a fancy meal.
The White House did not immediately reply to a request to clarify Trump’s remark.
Earlier in the evening, while seated with the top defence officials in the cabinet room, Trump talked about the threat from North Korea and preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.
“In North Korea, our goal is denuclearisation,” he said. “We cannot allow this dictatorship to threaten our nation or our allies with unimaginable loss of life. We will do what we must do to prevent that from happening. And it will be done, if necessary, believe me.”
20,000 South Koreans killed per day: the terrifying cost of war with North Korea
During his speech to the United Nations General Assembly last month, Trump said the United States would “totally destroy” North Korea if needed to defend itself or US allies.
The president on Thursday also had tough words for Iran, saying the country had not lived up to the spirit of an agreement forged with world powers to curb its nuclear programme.
A senior administration official said on Thursday that Trump was expected to announce soon he would decertify the landmark agreement.
Trump has filled top posts within his administration with military generals, including his chief of staff, retired General John Kelly, and national security adviser, Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster. McMaster, who normally dresses in civilian clothes at the White House, wore his uniform for the meeting.
Without being specific, Trump pressed the leaders to be faster at providing him with “military options” when needed.
“Moving forward, I also expect you to provide me with a broad range of military options, when needed, at a much faster pace. I know that government bureaucracy is slow, but I am depending on you to overcome the obstacles of bureaucracy,” he said during their cabinet room meeting.


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Donald Trump

‘Calm before the storm’: Trump meets generals and stokes war fears over North Korea, Iran

‘You guys know what this represents? Maybe it’s the calm before the storm...you’ll find out’

US President Donald Trump smiles as Defense Secretary James Mattis (C) looks on during a meeting with senior military leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House on October 5, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump pose for an official photograph with senior military leaders and their spouses in the State Dining room of the White House on Thursday. Photo: Bloomberg

20,000 South Koreans killed per day: the terrifying cost of a US war with North Korea

North Korean military officers vow to wage a sacred war against the US at a meeting in Pyongyang in this undated photo released by North Korea’s KCNA news agency on September 22. Photo: Reuters.

FILE - This undated file photo distributed on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017, by the North Korean government, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, second from right, at an undisclosed location. If the U.S. attacks North Korea, the world could see another nuclear war. Yet negotiations won’t work - leader Kim won’t live up to his promises even if he were to make any. And China - if only it would help more! Those are the sentiments that have produced a collective shrug from many as they watch the North make rapid strides toward developing nuclear missiles capable of striking anywhere in the United States. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

South Korean army's K-9 self-propelled howitzers move on the street in Paju, South Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017. In a first, North Korea on Tuesday fired a midrange ballistic missile designed to carry a nuclear payload that flew over Japan and splashed into the northern Pacific Ocean, officials said. The aggressive missile launch — likely the longest ever from the North — over the territory of a close U.S. ally sends a clear message of defiance as Washington and Seoul conduct war games nearby. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

(FILES)(COMBO) This combo of file photos shows an image (L) taken on April 15, 2017 of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on a balcony of the Grand People's Study House following a military parade in Pyongyang; and an image (R) taken on July 19, 2017 of US President Donald Trump speaking during the first meeting of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity in Washington, DC. An escalating war of words between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un ratcheted up a notch on September 22, 2017 as the US president dubbed North Korea's leader a "madman," a day after the reclusive regime hinted it may explode a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean. Hours earlier, in a rare personal attack, Kim took aim at Trump, branding him "mentally deranged" and warning he would "pay dearly" for his threat to destroy North Korea if challenged, uttered before the United Nations General Assembly. / AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB AND Ed JONES

A mock North Korea's Scud-B missile, left, and South Korean missiles are displayed at Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017. In a first, North Korea on Tuesday fired a midrange ballistic missile designed to carry a nuclear payload that flew over Japan and splashed into the northern Pacific Ocean, officials said. The aggressive missile launch _ likely the longest ever from the North _ over the territory of a close U.S. ally sends a clear message of defiance as Washington and Seoul conduct war games nearby. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Angered by ‘suicidal’ Abe, North Korea warns of ‘nuclear clouds’ over Japan

The US Castle Bravo H-bomb explosion on March 1, 1954, above the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Photo: US Department of Defence

‘They’re not behaving’: Iran tests missile, radar systems a day after new US sanctions

A December 29, 2016 photo of a long-range S-200 missile test. Photo: AP

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‘You guys know what this represents? Maybe it’s the calm before the storm...you’ll find out’


North Korea

‘Calm before the storm’: Trump meets generals and stokes war fears over North Korea, Iran

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}‘You guys know what this represents? Maybe it’s the calm before the storm...you’ll find out’

‘You guys know what this represents? Maybe it’s the calm before the storm...you’ll find out’