President Donald Trump will address the nation on Monday night in a prime-time address on his plans for Afghanistan and South Asia, the White House announced Sunday.
Trump will address the nation from Fort Myer in Arlington, Virginia, “on the path forward for America’s engagement in Afghanistan and South Asia”, the White House said in a statement.
Trump is likely to announce an increase in U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The president has been meeting with advisers on the issue, most recently at Camp David on Friday. He is expected to add 4,000 troops to the 8,400 now deployed in Afghanistan.
Defense Secretary James Mattis earlier on Sunday told reporters on a flight to Jordan that Trump had made a decision on Afghanistan. He did not offer any details, saying that would come from the president.
“I am very comfortable that the strategic process was sufficiently rigorous and did not go in with a pre-set position,” Mattis said. The White House statement also suggested that Trump will be discussing North Korea.
Tensions between the U.S. and North Korea have been on rise amid a series of missile tests by Pyongyang, and news reports that it has the ability to place a nuclear warhead on an intercontinental missile.
Trump surprised U.S. allies and adversaries alike this month when he warned North Korea it would face “fire and fury” if it continued to threaten to the United States.
North Korea warned the U.S. on Sunday it faces a “merciless strike” due to “reckless behavior driving the situation into the uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war”.
Pyongyang’s warning comes one day before the U.S. and South Korea conduct routine military exercises, which the North deems a threat. The U.S. adversary said the exercises will only add “fuel to the fire”.
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