President Trump was reportedly warned by top aides to not personally attack North Korea leader Kim Jong Un during his first speech to the United Nations this week, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Two U.S. officials told the Times that Trump’s threat to “totally destroy” North Korea, as well as his line mocking Kim as “Rocket Man” were not in a draft that officials reviewed the day before the speech.
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In his first address to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump ripped Kim over North Korea’s nuclear weapon program.
“Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime,” Trump said. “The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.”
Trump first referred to Kim as “Rocket Man” in an early-morning tweet last Sunday.
Kim issued a blistering response to Trump’s UN speech, calling him “the mentally deranged U.S. dotard” and referring to Trump as a “gangster fond of playing with fire, rather than a politician.”
“A frightened dog barks louder,” Kim said.
The two leaders’ back-and-forth comes after the UN Security Council unanimously voted to toughen sanctions on North Korea following its continued missile tests.