Labour leader also urges Theresa May to keep British armed forces out of any military action over North Korea crisis

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Jeremy Corbyn has called on the US president, Donald Trump, and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, to “wind down the war of rhetoric”.

The world leaders have been engaged in a war of words, with Trump threatening to rain “fire and fury” on the communist state after Pyongyang said it was “carefully examining” a plan to hit Guam with missiles.

Corbyn has urged the prime minister, Theresa May, not to commit any of Britain’s armed forces to military action in the Korea crisis.

Writing in the Sunday Mirror, the Labour leader said: “Trump and Kim must immediately wind down the war of rhetoric, as the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has demanded.

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“The risks of an unintended escalation into full-blown conflict are too great for the whole world. We cannot play fast and loose with nuclear weapons and nuclear threats. Our government must press for measured responses to bring the temperature down.

“Our government must not drag our country into any military action over the Korea crisis, including joint exercises.

“There can be no question of blind loyalty to the erratic and belligerent Trump administration. US-led regime-change wars and the threat of more to come have made this crisis more dangerous and difficult to resolve.”

He said any future Labour government would be committed to remove nuclear weapons from the world and “global pressure for dialogue and diplomacy must be overwhelming”.