US President Donald Trump has said that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was “acting very, very badly”, hours after Pyongyang conducted a ground test of a new type of high-thrust rocket engine.
“He is acting very very badly,” Trump said after he held meetings on North Korea with his national security staff at his Florida residence. Trump returned to the White House on Sunday night.
“Today, President Donald J Trump held meetings regarding North Korea and China,” the White House said in a brief readout of his meetings of the day. It said the President also met with military personnel.
In brief interaction with reporters at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said that over the weekend he held meeting with his officials on North Korea.
North Korea conducted a ground test of a new type of high-thrust rocket engine on Saturday at the Sohae launch site, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
It said Kim called the test “a great event of historic significance” for North Korea’s indigenous rocket industry.
In the last few weeks, the Trump administration has ramped up its rhetoric on North Korea.
The US alleges that these tests have been carried out in violation of the UN Security Council resolution.
Trump’s remarks came as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson headed back home from a three-nation — Japan, South Korea and China — trip wherein Pyongyang dominated his deliberations.
