‘Rocket Man’: Trump’s latest description of Kim Jong-un
US President Donald Trump has tweeted about a phone call to South Korean president Moon Jae-in and appeared to have called Kim Jong-un “Rocket Man.” Top advisers to the US leader warned North Korea on Sunday to stop threatening America and its allies and give up its nuclear weapons programs.
“I spoke with President Moon of South Korea last night,” Trump wrote. “Asked him how Rocket Man is doing.”
After the tweet, White House advisers said if the isolated nation will not stop its threats, it will face destruction. It also came a day after Kim Jong-un said that programs will continue, adding that North Korea is nearing its goal of "equilibrium" in military force with the US.
Fire and fury
In ABC’s This Week, national security adviser HR McMaster said Kim would have to give up his nuclear weapons because Trump has said he will not tolerate this regime’s threats. As for Trump’s description of Kim, McMaster said Rocket Man was "a new one and I think maybe for the president.”
As a response to a question if that meant the US president would launch a military strike if North Korea did not comply, McMaster noted that Trump has been very clear that all options are on the table. He added that rockets do represent a great threat to all.
US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said North Korea was starting to “feel the pinch” of being “economically strangled.” Latest sanctions have caused it to be “cut off from the world.”
She also warned that diplomatic and other non-military options were running out. The former South Carolina governor told CNN’s State of the Union that if North Korea keeps on with this reckless behaviour and the US defends itself and its allies, North Korea will face destruction.
North Korea has fired missiles over Japan, an ally of the US, and recently tested its most powerful bomb, Sydney Morning Herald notes. He also threatened Guam, a US territory in the Pacific.
In recent weeks, the UN Security Council has voted unanimously twice to tighten economic sanctions on North Korea. Haley warned about a tougher response of the US to future North Korean provocations.
Trump said it will rain "fire and fury" on North Korea if it continued with its threats. Haley maintained it was not an empty threat from the POTUS. She refused to provide further details in relation to Trump’s intentions.
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