North Korea says rockets to US 'inevitable'; Donald Trump tweets fresh threats

US President Donald Trump said on Twitter on Saturday North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho and leader Kim Jong Un "won't be around much longer" if Ri echoed the thoughts of "Little Rocket Man", an apparent reference to Kim.

Ri told the United Nations General Assembly earlier on Saturday that targeting the U.S. mainland with its rockets was inevitable after 'Mr. Evil President' Donald Trump called Pyongyang's leader "rocket man".

"Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at UN If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won't be around much longer!" Trump tweeted.

North Korea said on Saturday targeting the US mainland with its rockets was inevitable after "Mr. Evil President" Donald Trump called Pyongyang's leader 'rocket man', further escalating rhetoric over the North's nuclear weapons and missile programs.

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho's remarks to the United Nations General Assembly came hours after US Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers escorted by fighters flew in international airspace over waters east of North Korea in a show of force the Pentagon said showed the range of military options available to Trump.

Ri's speech capped a week of rising tensions between Washington and Pyongyang, with Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un trading insults. Trump called Kim a 'madman' on Friday, a day after Kim dubbed him a "mentally deranged US dotard."