North Korea’s top diplomat says Trump’s ‘rocket man’ insult makes missile

attack on U.S. ‘inevitable’

BY TERENCE CULLEN

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Updated: Saturday, September 23, 2017, 11:27 PM

President Trump's personal insults against Kim Jong Un increased the likelihood that North Korea
will attack the U.S., its foreign minister warned Saturday.

Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho opened his UN General Assembly speech to a full-throated rebuke of
Trump’s insults by slamming what he described as Trump’s “lacking of basic common knowledge and
proper sentiment.”

“He committed an irreversible mistake of making our rockets’ visit to the entire U.S. mainland
inevitable all the more,” Ri warned.

Ri was referring to Trump’s remarks at the UN on Wednesday, when he called the North Korean
dictator “Rocket Man on a suicide mission” in a fiery speech before scores of world leaders.

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Trump vowed to “totally destroy” the rogue nation should it continue testing nuclear missiles.

The tensions between both nations continued to escalate Saturday as the U.S. military buzzed the
North’s eastern coast with fighter jets and a bomber — and the President decided to fire back at Ri’s
taunts, half a day after the UN speech.

“Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N. If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket
Man, they won’t be around much longer,” Trump said.

Ri’s speech warned that “Trump himself is on a suicide mission.”

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“In case innocent lives of the U.S. are harmed because of this suicide attack, Trump will be held
totally responsible,” Ri said.
“Trump might not have been aware what is uttered from his mouth... but we will make sure that he
bears consequences far beyond his words, far beyond the scope of what he can handle,” he added.

North Korea has conducted several weapons and missile tests in recent months, leading to round
after round of sanctions from the UN. Ri contended on Saturday that his country’s latest weapons —
including a hydrogen bomb and an intercontinental ballistic missile — were only meant as a defense
against America.

“The very reason the DPRK had to possess nuclear weapons is because of the U.S.,” he said.

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Trump has traded barbs with North Korea for weeks.

Ri upped the ante Saturday, calling the former real estate developer a “gambler who grew old using
threats, frauds and all other schemes to acquire a patch of lands” who now “holds the nuclear
button.”

North Korea has threatened to fit a hydrogen bomb atop a rocket and launch it into the Pacific.

Trump will make the ultimate decision on how to respond if North Korea carries out the test, U.S.
Secretary of State Tillerson said Friday.

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He said diplomatic channels were still open to denuclearizing the Korean peninsula — but all military
options remain on the table.

Trump’s personal attacks on Kim were delivered against the advice of senior aides. They also weren’t
included in a draft reviewed and vetted by several top officials, according to the Tribune Washington
Bureau.