CBS News – In his first major address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Trump delivered his harshest warning yet to the North Korean regime, saying it risked “total destruction” if it continues its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

“The U.S. has great strength and patience but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea,” said Mr. Trump to the UNGA.

The president also said of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, “Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and his regime.” It’s a nickname he has recently started using in tweets.

Mr. Trump said the regime’s “reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles” threatens the entire world with unthinkable loss of human life.

“It is an outrage that some nations would not only trade with such a regime — but arm, supply and financially support a regime that imperils the world with nuclear conflict.”

Describing the North as a “depraved regime,” Mr. Trump blamed it for “the starvation deaths of millions, and for imprisonment torture and oppression of countless more,” and he cited the case of American student Otto Warmbier, who died after being held in North Korean captivity.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told CBS that Mr. Trump’s comments toward North Korea was yet another example of his “strong rhetoric and strong language.”

“We’ve seen the international community condemning North Korea of the developing of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles, the importance of working together to make sure that North Korea bounds it missile program and refrains from more testing, it is a threat toward all of us and it requires a global response,” said Stoltenberg.

He added, “there’s no easy way out, no easy answer” but that the international community needs to “find something in between doing nothing” and using military force.

As anticipated, Mr. Trump also spoke in harsh terms about Iran and the nuclear deal signed by his predecessor. He called it “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the U.S. has ever entered” and deemed it an “embarrassment to the U.S.”

In an indictment of the international body, Mr. Trump said the Iran nuclear deal provides a “cover for the potential construction of a nuclear program” in the region, an outcome that the U.S. would not tolerate.

“We cannot let a murderer’s regime continue these destabilizing activities while building dangerous missiles, and we cannot abide by an agreement if it provides cover for the eventual construction of a nuclear program.” It was a signal from the president that he is seriously considering either pulling out of or renegotiating the Iran nuclear deal, CBS News’ Margaret Brennan observed.  The Iran deal is agreement some of America’s strongest allies have signed, and they have said that it cannot be renegotiated.

Mr. Trump also framed his campaign’s “America First” ideology as American sovereignty in this speech. He told world leaders that the U.S. “can no longer be taken advantage of” in deals where the U.S. “gets nothing in return.”

“In America, the people govern the people rule and the people are sovereign,” said Mr. Trump, adding that he was elected to serve the people of his country.

“As long as I hold this office I will defend America’s interests above all else but in fulfilling our obligations to our own nations we also realize its in everyone’s interest to seek a  future where all nations can be sovereign, prosperous and secure,” he added.

On Monday, the president kicked off his week of diplomacy with a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where he promised the leader that there was a “good chance” for peace in the Middle East. He also sat with French President Emmanuel Macron and lauded the president for his impressive military parade on Bastille Day. 

Source: US Government Class