Even though North Korea has often made news for testing missiles on a regular basis, it has been in the eye of the storm since it tested a hydrogen bomb on September 3, inviting the wrath of numerous nations including the United States. In tune with it, numerous sanctions have been imposed on the recluse nation and US President Donald Trump even threatened to "totally destroy North Korea" during his address to the UN General Assembly this week.
While Trump's speech raised quite a few eyebrows and was even labelled it an "embarrassment to the US," North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has spoken up on the president's statement and had the choicest of words to describe Trump. Addressing the viewers on North Korean television, Kim called Trump a "rogue" and a "gangster."
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Speaking about Trump's threats to North Korea, Kim said that Trump was someone who liked playing with fire and is "unfit to hold the prerogative of supreme command of a country." He also called the US president a "frightened dog" and warned that he would "pay dearly" for publicly threatening North Korea.
"I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire," Kim said in a statement, which was translated by Conflict News. "A frightened dog barks louder. I'd like to advise Trump to exercise prudence in selecting words, and to be considerate of whom he speaks to when making a speech in front of the world."
Meanwhile, Trump on September 21 signed new unilateral sanctions on North Korea, which is likely to further irk Kim. However, he is yet to speak about it. "Today, I announced a new Executive Order with re: to North Korea. We must all do our part to ensure the complete denuclearization of #NoKo," Trump tweeted.
On September 11, the United Nations Security Council had imposed sanctions on Pyongyang and put a ban on textile exports and also restricted the shipment of oil products. This is likely to hit the funding of its nuclear programmes. The US-drafted sanctions received a 15-0 vote and was the ninth resolution adopted by the UN since the year 2006.
The US had initially proposed a complete oil embargo and also said that the foreign accounts of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un should be frozen. However, these proposals were dropped later. Apart from the oil and textile ban, the sanctions also put a ceiling on the deliveries of refined oil products to Pyongyang and also limit crude oil shipments to the current level.
Additionally, other countries now cannot issue work permits to North Korean labourers, and firms cannot indulge in joint ventures with the nation either. The names of a few North Korean officials have also been added to UN's blacklist, which results in the freezing of their assets abroad and a worldwide travel ban.
While China and Russia may have backed these sanctions, it has urged countries to carry out a dialogue with Pyongyang so that the matter is resolved.
Meanwhile, here's the full text of what Kim Jong-un said:
MORE: Full transcript of Kim Jong-Un's statement: KCNA - @passantino pic.twitter.com/WDWKSdqEfC
— Conflict News (@Conflicts) September 21, 2017