This is personal: Why Kim’s latest attack on Trump is on a new level

On the surface it seems like more of the same: North Korea responds to another threat by US President Donald Trump by calling him a “deranged” old man who will “pay dearly” for his insults. These words yesterday, however, carry the weight of an unprecedented personal rebuke from North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong Un. Here are five things to know about Kim’s statement: It was written in the first person, and issued directly to the international community generally and to Trump specifically. Seoul’s Unification Ministry, which is responsible for North- South relations, said it was the first time a North Korean leader had addressed the world with such a direct statement. Neither of the two men to rule before Kim Jong Un — his father, Kim Jong Il, and his grandfather, national founder Kim Il Sung — issued any similar statements. It could be that Kim felt that a direct response was crucial because of the harshness of Trump’s comments. The US President vowed to unleash “fire and fury” on North Korea, used the nickname “rocket man” for Kim, and at the UN on Wednesday threatened to “totally destroy” the North if provoked. The statement suggests more powerful weapons tests are in the works. North Korea’s Foreign Minister seemed to confirm this on the sidelines of a global UN meeting in New York, telling reporters that Kim’s comments could mean that North Korea will conduct an H- bomb test in the Pacific. Analysts in Seoul also saw the statement as a warning that more tests, possibly of the country’s developmental intercontinental ballistic missiles, should be expected. Believe it or not, Kim’s statement actually used gentler language than his propaganda specialists have favoured in the past. Granted, he called Trump a “mentally deranged US dotard” ( a word to describe a fragile elderly person) and a “frightened dog”. But this is a far cry from North Korea at its worst. North Korea has previously embraced racist, sexist and just plain rude statements about its enemies. It called South Korea’s first female President, Park Geun Hye, “crafty prostitute” and former US President Barack Obama her pimp and a “monkey”. Kim says Trump’s threats only emphasise that North Korea has been justified in its pursuit of nuclear missiles. North Korea has long said that its weapons tests are necessary because of US hostility, which for Pyongyang includes the nearly 80,000 US troops stationed in Japan and South Korea. Each Trump threat plays into this narrative. Kim seemed to take umbrage that Trump was personally insulting him. Kim essentially says that he expected better of Trump. Because the US President was speaking publicly on the world stage at the UN, Kim thought he’d resort to “stereo- typed, prepared remarks a little different from what he used to utter in his office on the spur of the moment”. “But, far from making remarks of any persuasive power that can be viewed to be helpful to defusing tension, he made unprecedented rude nonsense one has never heard from any of his predecessors,” Kim said. Kim advised the President “to exercise prudence in selecting words and to be considerate of whom he speaks to when making a speech in front of the world”. He added that “Trump has denied the existence of and insulted me and my country in front of the eyes of the world”. In a country where Kim’s word is law, the message seems clear: This will not stand.