Former president Donald Trump defended North Korean leader Kim Jon-un as the communist nation fired a long-range missile.
The authoritarian regimee confirmed it launched an intercontinental ballistic missile recently and that it “suddenly” organized the launch at the behest of the North Korean despot.
The nation said the launch was meant to bolster its “fatal” nuclear attack capabilities, according to the state-run KCNA news agency. In response, the United States flew long-range supersonic bombers with South Korean war planes on Sunday.
But Mr Trump defended North Korea’s actions on Truth Social.
“Kim Jung Un of North Korea, who I got to know and got along with very well during my years as President, is not happy with the US and South Korea doing big training and air exercises together,” Mr Trump said. “He feels threatened. Even I would constantly complain that South Korea pays us very little to do these extremely expensive and provocative drills. It’s really ridiculous. We have 35,000 in jeopardy soldiers there, I had a deal for full payment to us, $Billions, and Biden gave it away. Such a shame!!!”
In the early part of Mr Trump’s presidency, he criticized North Korea, dubbing its leader “Rocket Man.” But Mr Trump and Kim Jong-un eventually met, first in Singapore in 2019 and then again later, when Mr Trump became the first president to set foot inside the country. But the summit did not lead to North Korea disarming itself. Mr Trump later said that the two exchanged letters and they “fell in love.”
The missile tests from North Korea have prompted concerns; South Korea, Japan and China have been urged to conduct radiation exposure tests on people who have escaped the regime who lived near the country’s nuclear research facility, though North Korea has rejected concerns about safety.