North Korea mocks ‘screams of Trump terrified’ by Pyongyang’s power after State of the Union criticism
Trump honoured Ji Seong-ho, a North Korean defector with only one arm and one leg who made a dramatic, 6,000-mile journey to the South after suffering severe discrimination and torture at home
North Korea hit back at US President Donald Trump on Sunday after he slammed rights abuses under the hermit regime in his State of the Union address, with Pyongyang describing the speech as “screams of Trump terrified” by the North’s power.
The comments follow months of fiery rhetoric between the two countries that have seen tensions soar, with Trump drawing criticism at home for repeatedly using highly menacing language towards the reclusive state.
During Wednesday’s address, he criticised the “cruel dictatorship” of Kim Jong-un and the leader’s “reckless pursuit” of atomic weapons while vowing to wage “a campaign of maximum pressure” to derail the nuclear threat.
Watch: China prepares for a crisis in North Korea
Kim declared his country a fully-fledged nuclear power last November after testing an intercontinental ballistic missile Pyongyang claimed is capable of reaching the US mainland.
Trump also lashed out at widespread human rights abuses under the regime and highlighted the case of Otto Warmbier, an American student who died last year soon after being released from a 17-month-long detention in North Korea.