North Korea's Foreign Ministry released a statement early Saturday calling U.S. President Donald Trump "an old lunatic." It also said that Trump's mental state justifies "building up our nuclear force."
Trump returned the jab with an insult of his own, calling North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un “short and fat.”
“Why would Kim Jong Un insult me by calling me ‘old,’ when I would NEVER call him ‘short and fat?’ Trump tweeted.
“Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend – and maybe someday that will happen!” he said on Twitter.
>> Related: North Korea warns of “abyss of doom” after Trump’s South Korea speech
Trump took the “far be it from me to call anyone short and fat, but…” approach, taking this schoolyard war-of-words between two world leaders to new heights.
The president made headlines on Monday when he declared the United States' policy of "strategic patience" with North Korea "over." Trump made the comments during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe.
“The era of strategic patience is over,” Trump said about his position on North Korea. “Some people said that my rhetoric is very strong, but look what’s happened with very weak rhetoric over the last 25 years. Look where we are now.”
Trump has mentioned the U.S. policy on North Korea over the past 25 years before and said, unlike his predecessors, he "won't fail."
"Being nice to Rocket Man hasn't worked in 25 years, why would it work now? Clinton failed, Bush failed, and Obama failed. I won't fail," Trump tweeted.
>> Related: North Korea calls Trump an “old lunatic”
“Rocket Man” is Trump’s nickname for Kim Jong Un.
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