North Korea is facing total destruction, warns Trump
PRESIDENT Donald Trump has threatened the total destruction of North Korea if it does not abandon its drive toward nuclear weapons.
Mr Trump (below), who has ramped up his rhetoric throughout the escalating crisis with North Korea, was speaking during his debut speech to the UN general assembly.
He told the UN that “it is far past time for the nations of the world to confront” Kim Jong Un and said Mr Kim’s “reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons” poses a threat to “the entire world with an unthinkable loss of human life”.
“Rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself and his regime,” Mr Trump said about the North Korean leader.
He said of the US: “If it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.”
Mr Trump, who has previously warned of “fire and fury” if Pyongyang does not back down, claimed “no one has shown more contempt for other nations and for the wellbeing of their own people than the depraved regime in North Korea”. And he scolded nations that he said have enabled and traded with North Korea, seeming to slight China, though he did not mention it by name.
Elected on the nationalist slogan America First, Mr Trump argued that individual nations should act in their own self-interest, yet rally together when faced with a common threat.
In addition to North Korea, Mr Trump urged nations to join together to stop Iran’s nuclear programme.
He declared the Iran nuclear deal an “embarrassment” for the United States.
He also condemned the “loser terrorists” who have committed violence across the globe.
Mr Trump has at times rattled the international community with his unpredictability.
He has pulled the US out of multi-national agreements, considered shrinking the US military footprint in the world and deployed bombastic language on North Korea that has been criticised by other world leaders.
Mr Trump also told the UN: “I will always put America first. Just like you, the leaders of your countries, should always put your countries first,” said Mr Trump, who assured the UN that the US would not abdicate its leadership position in the world but needed other countries to contribute more.
“The US will forever be a great friend to the world and especially to its allies. But we can no longer be taken advantage of or enter into a one-sided deal in which the United States gets nothing in return.”