Donald Trump to Kim Jong-un: 'I too have a Nuclear Button'

US President Donald Trump appeared to warn North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that he also had a nuclear button. He took to Twitter on Tuesday to say that his nuclear button "is a much bigger & more powerful one than his...”

In his tweet, the POTUS mentioned Kim by name, noting that he just stated that the “Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.”

“Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!” he added.

Trump’s tweet came after Kim’s televised speech on Monday, in which he said that the entire United States is within range of their nuclear weapons. He also said that a nuclear button is always on his desk, then emphasised that it was not a threat but a reality.

In his New Year address, Kim said the US cannot declare war against his regime. “The entire US territories are within our firing range and the nuclear missile button is right there on my desk,” he said in his speech broadcast on state TV. Kim also added that they have secured powerful deterrence against the nuclear threat from Trump’s country.

Kim also made an overture to South Korea. He expressed willingness to send a delegation to the Winter Olympics, which South Korea will be hosting next month.

South Korea on Tuesday responded to the rare overture as it offered talks on January 9 to discuss Olympic co-operation as well as improving overall ties. Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, however, maintained that talks would not be meaningful unless the North was getting rid of its nuclear weapons.

The US administration appeared to express suspicions that Kim intends to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington. US Ambassador Nikki Haley told reporters that they would not take talks seriously if there is no action to ban all nuclear weapons in North Korea. Haley also warned on Tuesday of more measures if the North, which has been punished with unprecedented sanctions at the UN, conducts another missile test.

In another tweet, the US leader said he will announce awards for the “most dishonest and corrupt media.” He teased that subjects would cover bad reporting and dishonesty in various categories from the “fake news media.”