Merkel: Escalation of rhetoric on North Korea is wrong answer

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Friday against “the escalation of rhetoric” in the wake of rising tensions between the U.S. and North Korea, adding that she didn’t see a military solution to the issue.

“I believe that, am firmly convinced that an escalation of rhetoric will not contribute to a solution of this conflict,” Merkel said when she was asked about President Trump’s recent statements on the issue. 

“I do not see a military solution to this conflict, rather I see continuous work, like we have seen in the U.N. Security Council with members with resolutions in view of North Korea, and above all very close cooperation with affected countries, especially the United States and China, but also South Korea, of course Japan,” she continued. 

{mosads}”Germany will be intensively involved with potential solutions that we see, not of a military manner. But the escalation of rhetoric I hold as the wrong answer,” she said. 

Merkel’s comments come as Trump and North Korea have ratcheted up rhetoric toward each other. 

The president issued a stark warning to Pyongyang on Tuesday, saying if it continued to threaten the U.S. it “will be met with fire, fury and frankly power, the likes of which this world has never seen before.”

North Korea responded with a specific threat, saying they would attack waters around the U.S. territory of Guam. 

Trump continued to turn up his rhetoric on North Korea in a tweet on Friday, and later retweeted the U.S. Pacific Command, saying they were prepared to respond if Guam is attacked.

Military solutions are now fully in place,locked and loaded,should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 11, 2017

#USAF B-1B Lancer #bombers on Guam stand ready to fulfill USFK’s #FightTonight mission if called upon to do so https://t.co/O3oVeFrNrG pic.twitter.com/IAm2qLwcWY

— U.S. Pacific Command (@PacificCommand) August 11, 2017