Trump makes threat to destroy North Korea
PRESIDENT DONALD Trump, in a combative debut speech to the UN general assembly, threatened the total destruction of North Korea if it does not abandon its drive toward nuclear weapons.
Mr Trump, who has ramped up his rhetoric throughout the crisis with North Korea, told the murmuring crowd at 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 slogan America First, Mr Trump argued that nations should act in their self-interest, yet rally together when faced with a common threat. Mr Trump urged nations to join to stop Iran’s nuclear programme.