Back at UN, Trump to herald upturn with NK

United Nations, Sept. 24: Twelve months on from his explosive debut on the world's biggest diplomatic stage, Donald Trump returns to the UN General Assembly on Monday to trumpet a turnaround in ties with last year's number one enemy, North Korea's Kim Jong Un.

But while relations with Kim have improved dramatically, leaders attending the annual gathering at UN headquarters in New York will hear how another of Trump's adversaries, Iran's Hassan Rouhani, remains beyond the pale for the American president.

After arriving in his hometown on Sunday, Trump has a packed schedule over the next few days, kicking off with a speech about the global drugs trade on Monday.

In addition to his address to the General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump has a series of bilateral meetings with allies such as French President Emmanuel Macron, Britain's Theresa May and Japan's Shinzo Abe, whom he met with late on Sunday.

One of the most closelywatched will be Monday's meeting with South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in, who will brief him on last week's interKorean summit with Kim in Pyongyang.

In his 41-minute speech at the General Assembly in 2017, the US president made clear he wanted to turn the clock back on the last half-century's growth of global rules and institutions to return to the primacy of the nationstate. While the implications of his “America First” philosophy rattled many world leaders who sat in the chamber, the main target of his invective was absent.

After months of escalating tensions over advances in the North's nuclear program, Trump warned Kim that Washington would “totally destroy” North Korea if the US or its allies was attacked. His remarks triggered an angry response from Kim, who called Trump “mentally deranged.” –AFP

Trump has bilateral meetings with Macron, May and Abe, whom he met with late on Sunday.

One of the most closely-watched will be the meet with South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in.