SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
'Old man' Trump is 'bluffing' says North Korea: KCNA
Seoul, Dec 9 (AFP) Dec 09, 2019
North Korea on Monday slammed US President Trump for "bluffing" and called him "an old man bereft of patience" as Pyongyang ramps up pressure on Washington over stalled nuclear talks.

Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un engaged in mutual insults and threats of devastation in 2017, sending tensions soaring before a diplomatic rapprochement the following year.

Pyongyang has set Washington an end-of-year time limit to offer it new concessions in deadlocked nuclear negotiations, and has said it will adopt an unspecified "new way" if nothing acceptable is forthcoming.

Denuclearisation negotiations have been at a standstill since a summit in Hanoi broke up in February.

Trump has indicated that the option of military action was still on the table while downplaying Pyongyang's actions, saying the North's leader would not want to "interfere" with the upcoming US presidential elections.

"I'd be surprised if North Korea acted hostiley," Trump said Saturday.

But Kim Yong Chol, who served as the North's counterpart to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo until the collapse of the Hanoi meeting, slammed Trump's "odd words and expression", referring to him as a "heedless and erratic old man".

"Our action is for his surprise. So, if he does not get astonished, we will be irritated," Kim, now the chairman of the Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.

"This naturally indicates that Trump is an old man bereft of patience," he said, adding: "From those words and expressions we can read how irritated he is now."

The official noted that the North Korean leader had not used "any irritating expression towards the US president as yet", but warned his "understanding" of Trump could change.

"He must understand that his own style bluffing and hypocrisy sound rather abnormal and unrealistic to us," Kim said. "We have nothing more to lose."

The North has raised tensions in recent months with a series of assertive statements and multiple weapons tests -- including a "very important test" at its key satellite launch site at the weekend -- as its negotiating time limit approaches.

Kim's New Year speech, a key political set-piece in the isolated country, is also due on January 1.

On Thursday, the North's vice foreign minister Choe Son Hui warned of again referring to Trump as a "dotard" -- Pyongyang's favoured nickname for the US president at the height of tensions in 2017.

Another senior official said last week that what gift the US receives for Christmas will depend entirely on Washington's actions.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Bearings Used in Space Technologies: Engineering for the Final Frontier
China prepares for Mars sample return with HKU astrobiologist on mission team
Robots could one day crawl across the moon

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Ultrasound triggers nuclear decay anomaly hinting at flexible space-time
AI system accelerates aircraft concept design using language models
Autonomous sub explores unexplored trench depths to reveal critical mineral clues

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
PLD Space selected as leading contender for ESA sovereign launch initiative
UK opens competitive bid for GBP 75 million orbital cleanup mission
Why Satellite Jamming Is the New Frontline in Global Conflict

24/7 News Coverage
Glacier retreat could drive a surge in volcanic eruptions worldwide
UK thermal satellite firm wins ESA contract to deliver real time climate and security insights
Beyond male dominance in primates new study redefines gender power roles



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.