In New York on Saturday, North Korea’s Foreign Minister – Ri Yong Ho – levelled a barrage of insults and threats towards the U.S. and its President Donald Trump, while defending his country’s nuclear pursuits.
The introduction of his speech at the UN General Assembly (UNGA), originally scheduled to take place on Friday, was largely in response to Trump’s own UNGA speech on Tuesday.
“Before going into the main points of my debate, I feel forced to make comments on the speech uttered four days ago by someone called the U.S. President, that rendered this sacred UN arena tainted,” he said.
“During his 8 months in power he has turned the White House into a marketing place full of the crackling sounds of abacus beads. He has tried to turn the UN arena into a gangster’s nest where money is respected and blood shed is the order of the day.”
Ri then said Trump was a “mentally deranged person full of megalomania” and that his own citizens call him “Commander in Grief, “Lyin King” and “President Evil”.
During his inaugural speech at the UN, U.S. President Donald Trump condemned North Korea, calling the regime “depraved.”
“The United States has great strength and patience but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea… The United States is ready, willing and able but hopefully, this will not be necessary,” Trump said during the speech.
In response, North Korean state media carried a rare message from DPRK leader Kim Jong Un.
During his speech on Saturday, Ri made a further response to the comments as well as Trump’s labeling of Kim as “Rocket man.”
“He committed an irreversible mistake of making our rockets’ visit to the entire U.S. mainland inevitable all the more,” he said, adding that any American lives lost as a result would be Trump’s responsibility.
Echoing Kim Jong Un’s statement on Thursday, Ri said that Trump would “pay dearly” for his comments.
Ri spent a significant portion of the speech reiterating the DPRK’s position that its development of its nuclear weapons is self-defensive and only exists due to what he deemed the U.S.’s “hostile policy” against North Korea.
Ri also touted his country’s progress in producing nuclear weapons, saying that the DPRK needs no external recognition that it is a nuclear state and calling its pursuit of such weapons the country’s “immortal destiny.”
“The DPRK is a responsible nuclear weapons state,” Ri said, saying that North Korea was only “a few steps away” from completing its state nuclear force.
“We will take preventive measures by merciless preemptive action in case the U.S. and its vassal forces show any sign of conducting a kind of “decapitating” operation on our headquarters or military attack against our country,” he added, while saying his country would spare states that do not join the U.S. in such actions.
He also rejected the UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions resolutions adopted against North Korea as well as UNSC member states. Ri called the UNSC an “undemocratic organ” and called for reforms of the body.
Ri announced a new committee that has been commissioned in North Korea to “investigate and compile all physical and moral damages imposed upon the DPRK,” saying that the results of the investigation would be used to hold the U.S. accountable.
Featured image: United Nations
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