UN head warns before Trump speech: ‘Fiery talk can lead to fatal misunderstandings’

The head of the United Nations warned that “fiery talk can lead to fatal misunderstandings” just before President Trump’s Tuesday speech at the General Assembly included a threat to “totally destroy” North Korea.

“The use of nuclear weapons should be unthinkable. Even the threat of their use can never be condoned. But today global anxieties about nuclear weapons are at the highest level since the end of the Cold War,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in his first state-of-the-world report since taking the helm of the organization.

“When tensions rise, so does the chance of miscalculation. Fiery talk can lead to fatal misunderstandings.”

{mosads}

Guterres specifically called out North Korea. But the speech also appeared to be in reference to Trump, who has warned of “fire and fury” awaiting North Korea if it continues to threaten the United States.

On Tuesday, Guterres spoke before Trump. In his speech later, Trump proceeded to belittle North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as “Rocket Man” and threatened to eliminate his regime.

“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 said. “Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime.”

North Korea has been unrelenting in its missile and nuclear programs despite increasingly tough international sanctions.

Pyongyang carried out its sixth and most power nuclear test earlier this month and last week launched an intermediate range ballistic missile that flew over Japanese territory for the second time.

After the nuclear test, the U.N. Security Council unanimously passed its toughest sanctions yet, banning North Korean textile exports and capping its imports of crude oil.

In his speech, Guterres called on the U.N. to maintain the unity displayed in the sanctions vote.

“Only that unity can lead to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and — as the resolution recognizes — create an opportunity for diplomatic engagement to resolve the crisis,” he said.

Guterres also warned about to “sleepwalk our way into war,” saying the solution to the crisis must be political and requires statesmanship.

More broadly, Guterres said all countries need to have a greater commitment to ridding the world of nuclear weapons.

“Today, proliferation is creating unimaginable danger, and disarmament is paralyzed,” he said. “There is an urgent need to prevent proliferation, to promote disarmament and to preserve gains made in these directions.”