DPRK Foreign Minister lambastes Trump, UN Security Council

World Today

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Minister for Foreign Affairs Ri Yong Ho addresses the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 23, 2017.

The Foreign Minister for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea spent a significant portion of his speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday criticizing remarks made by U.S. President Donald Trump just five days ago before the same body.

Watch the full speech here:

DPRK Minister for Foreign Affairs Ri Yong Ho said that Trump’s comments had tainted the United Nations.

“During his eight months in power, he has turned the White House into a noisy marketing place full of crackling sounds of abacus beads, and now he has tried to turn the U.N. arena into a gangsters’ nest, where money is respected and bloodshed is the order of the day,” Ri said.

He went on to call Trump a megalomaniac and mentally-deranged.

Ri on Trump:

On Monday, Trump said that if the U.S. was forced to defend itself or its allies, it would have “no choice but to totally destroy North Korea“.

“Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime,” Trump said, referring to DPRK leader Kim Jung Un.

Ri countered Saturday that it was Trump that was on a suicide mission.

“Due to his lacking of basic common knowledge and proper sentiment, he tried to insult the supreme dignity of my country by referring it to a rocket. By doing so, however, he committed an irreversible mistake of making our rockets’ visit to the entire U.S. mainland inevitable all the more,” Ri said.

“None other than Trump himself is on a suicide mission. In case innocent lives of the U.S. are lost because of this suicide attack. Trump will be held totally responsible.”

The U.S. delegation to the United Nations listens as DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho addresses the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 23, 2017.

Ri also threatened to take “preventive measures by merciless preemptive action” if the U.S. and its allies attempts to strike the DPRK.

Ri said the DPRK’s possession of nuclear weapons is a “righteous self-defensive measure” and that it was a “war deterrent” that would put an end the U.S. nuclear threat of the U.S. and prevent a military invasion. He also said that the DPRK was a “responsible nuclear weapon state.”

Ri on ‘preventative measures’ against US attack

The DPRK Foreign Minister also had critical words for the United Nations Security Council calling it out for what he said was “unjust and unfair” resolutions” against the DPRK. Ri said the Security Council’s actions went against the U.N. Charter that recognizes the right to self defense of every state.


Brian Becker discusses the latest in US-DPRK tensions

CGTN’s Susan Roberts interviewed journalist Brian Becker about the DPRK speech at the United Nations and the rising tensions between the U.S. and the DPRK.