North Korean leader Kim Jong Un lobbed a string of insults at President Donald Trump on Friday, calling him a “mentally deranged US dotard” and hinting at a frightening new weapon test.
It was the first time for a North Korean leader to issue such a direct statement against a US President, dramatically escalating the war of words between the former wartime foes and raising the international nuclear standoff to a new level.
In a lengthy statement carried by state media, Kim said Mr Trump would “pay dearly” for his recent threat to destroy North Korea. He also called the US President “deranged” and “a rogue and a gangster fond of playing with fire.”
Kim said his country will consider the “highest level of hard-line counter-measure in history,” a possible indication of more powerful weapons tests on the horizon, but didn’t elaborate.
His foreign minister, asked on a visit to New York to attend the UN General Assembly what the counter-measure would be, said his country may test a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean.
Kim’s statement was unusual because it was written in the first person. North Korean state TV later showed a solemn-looking Kim, dressed in a gray Mao-style suit, reading the statement. South Korea said it was the first direct address to the world by any North Korean leader.
