Trump threatens to ‘destroy’ N. Korea
In nationalist speech to U.N., president mocks Kim, calls nuclear accord with Iran ‘an embarrassment.’
President Donald UNITED NATIONS — Trump brought a confrontational message to the United Nations on Tuesday as he vowed to “totally destroy North Korea” if it threatened the United States or its allies and denounced the nuclear agreement with Iran as “an embarrassment” that he may abandon.
In his first address to the U.N. General Assembly, Trump framed the conflicts with “rogue regimes” like North Korea, Iran and Venezuela as a test of the international system. With rhetorical flourishes like vowing to crush “loser terrorists” and labeling North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un “Rocket Man,” Trump at times dispensed with the restrained language many American presidents have used at the United Nations.
“If the righteous many do not confront the wicked few, then evil will triumph,” he said as the audience of presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and diplomats remained largely stonefaced. “When decent people and nations become bystanders to history, the forces of destruction only gather power and strength.”
He asserted that some parts of the world “are going to hell” and sought to explain his “America First” policy to an audience
concerned about what it means for U.S. leadership in the world. From the dais of an organization meant to bring nations together, Trump argued that nationalism can be the foundation for strong nations to join common causes. He repeatedly used the word “sovereignty” to describe his approach in a setting where the term traditionally has been bran- dished by nations like Russia and China to deflect crit- icism of their actions.
Trump singled out North Korea for his harshest words, broadening his indictment of the Pyongyang government beyond just its pur- suit of nuclear weapons to its treatment of its own peo- ple and captured foreigners like the American college student who died shortly after being released and sent, in an unexplained coma, back to the United States.
“No nation on earth has an interest in seeing this band of criminals arm itself with nuclear weapons and missiles,” Trump said. “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. Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime.”
Without mentioning it by name, Trump also chastised China for continuing to deal with its rogue neighbor.
“It is an outrage that some nations would not only trade with such a regime, but would arm, supply and financially support a country that imperils the world with nuclear conflict,” the president said.
He went on to assail the Iran agreement, which was negotiated by President Barack Obama and leaders of five other powers and rat- ified by the U.N. Security Council to curb Tehran’s nuclear program for a decade in exchange for lifting inter- national sanctions. Under U.S. law, Trump has until Oct. 15 to certify whether Iran is complying with the agreement, which he has
done twice so far since taking office. But he has made clear that he would prefer not to do so again, which could result in the unraveling of the accord.
“The Iran deal was one of the worst and most onesided transactions the United States has ever entered into,” Trump told the U.N. audi
ence. “Frankly, that deal is an embarrassment to the United States, and I don’t think you’ve heard the last of it, believe me.”
The tough words cheered the delegation from Israel, whose prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and advisers applauded. In his own speech later, Netanyahu said Trump had “rightly called the nuclear deal with Iran an embarrassment” and pointed to North Korea as an example.
“In the last few months, we’ve all seen how dangerous even a few nuclear weapons can be in the hands of a small rogue regime,” Net- anyahu said. “Now imagine the danger of hundreds of nuclear weapons in the reins of a vast Iranian empire, with
the missiles to deliver them anywhere on Earth.”
Others called Trump’s speech over the top.
“If Trump was determined to demonstrate to the world
that he is unhinged and an imminent danger to world peace, he has succeeded with this speech, and will only make it harder for him to win over the world to his self-destructive goals,” said Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council.
Neither Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, nor Moham- mad Javad Zarif, its foreign minister, were in the hall for Trump’s speech. North Korea’s ambassador left his seat before the president started speaking. The rest of the audience gave Trump polite but unenthusiastic applause.
Trump arrived at the United Nations with a more overtly nationalist approach than past American presidents, predicated on a belief that the United States has been taken advantage of in areas like trade, security and other international affairs. In addition to abandoning the Paris accord, he has renounced the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact with 11 other nations and threatened to scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement if it is not renegotiated to his liking.
In his speech, he used the word “sovereign” or “sovereignty” 21 times. “As president of the United States, I will always put America first, just like you, as the leaders of your countries, will always and should always put your countries first,” he said.
“The United States will forever be a great friend to the world, and especially to its allies,” he went on. “But we can no longer be taken advantage of or enter into a one-sided deal where the United States gets nothing in return. As long as I hold this office, I will defend America’s interest above all else. But in fulfilling our obliga
tions to our own nations, we also realize that it’s in everyone’s interest to seek a future where all nations can be sovereign, prosperous and secure.”
Aaron David Miller, a former American peace negotiator now at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, said Trump “awkwardly tried to reconcile” his nationalist approach with the international orientation of the United Nations.
“President Trump’s speech was a confusing hodgepodge of tropes, themes and threats that made one unmistakable point: there is no coherent Trump Doctrine,” he said.