North Korea brands Trump an ‘erratic old man’
A senior North Korean official has called US president Donald Trump a “heedless and erratic old man” as the rekindled war of words between the two countries heats up.
In a statement carried on state media, ruling party vice chairman Kim Yong Chol described Trump as impatient and rebuked him over his rhetoric.
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He also repeated a threat from last week that Pyongyang would dust off a previous insult used to refer to the US president: “dotard”.
Tensions between the two countries have mounted in recent weeks ahead of a deadline North Korea set for Washington to soften its stance on negotiations.
Kim Yong Chol, who was instrumental in arranging a failed second summit between Trump and Kim Jon Un in February, said North Korea’s leader may change his views on Trump if the president continues to utter “inappropriate, highly risky words and expressions”.
The official pointed to remarks by Trump over the weekend that Kim had “far too much to lose” and would not want to interfere with the upcoming US presidential election.
Kim Yong Chol said the remarks suggest Trump is “an old man bereft of patience”.
“As he is such a heedless and erratic old man, the time when we cannot but call him a ‘dotard’ again may come,” he added.
Although Trump regularly traded insults with North Korea early in his presidency, both sides have largely avoided personal attacks after Trump met Kim in Singapore in 2018.
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But Pyongyang bristled last week after Trump referred to Kim as “Rocket Man” – a nickname Trump used for the Korean leader early in his term.
North Korea on Sunday carried out what it described as a “very important” test at its satellite launching station in Sohae – a rocket-testing facility that US and South Korean officials once said Pyongyang had promised to shut down.