Trump flip-flops on North Korea, says they still pose ‘extraordinary threat’ to U.S.

Less than 10 days after proclaiming that North Korea no longer poses a nuclear threat, U.S. President Donald Trump has now said North Korea’s nuclear program presents “an unusual and extraordinary threat” to the U.S.

The White House statement released Friday says North Korea’s possession of weapons-grade fissile material “imperils” U.S. Armed Forces, and warned that the country’s pursuit of nuclear and missile programs continues to “constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”

The observations were made to justify Trump’s decision to extend Executive Order 13466, a decade-long state of national emergency over the threat posed to the U.S. by North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, by another year.

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FACT CHECK: Donald Trump says North Korea no longer a nuclear threat

Trump previously declared victory after meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a historic summit in Singapore earlier this month. He also claimed — falsely — that his administration was the first to work on denuclearization with North Korea (both the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations did so).

WATCH: Mattis unaware of steps taken by North Korea to denuclearize

0:48 Mattis unaware of steps taken by North Korea to denuclearize

The president’s comments also ran counter to remarks made by Defense Secretary James Mattis, who said he wasn’t aware that North Korea had taken any steps yet toward denuclearization.

— With files from The Associated Press

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