In his first-ever interview with the British media, North Korea’s new ambassador to the United Kingdom waited no time to ratchet up the pressure in his country’s high stakes game of “nuclear chicken” with the United States and President Donald Trump. In an exclusive interview with Sky News—the UK’s equivalent of Fox News Channel—Ambassador Choe Il said dictator Kim Jong-un was not afraid to continue its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile testing programs. He completely dismissed sanctions against his country as “baseless” and “illegal.”

Asked about the threat of pre-emptive action by the U.S., he issued his own threat: “We are developing our nuclear strength to respond to that kind of attack by the U.S. If the U.S. attacks us, our military and people are fully ready to respond to any kind of attack. “The U.S. cannot attack us first. If the U.S. moves an inch, then we are ready to turn to ashes any available strategic assets of the US.” READ MORE