US President Donald Trump calls North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ‘Rocket Man’

This undated picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on September 16, 2017 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (R) inspecting a launching drill of the medium-and-long range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 at an undisclosed location. (Photo by AFP)

US President Donald Trump has called North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “Rocket Man,” amid increasing tensions between Washington and Pyongyang.  

“I spoke with President Moon of South Korea last night,” Trump tweeted early on Sunday.

“Asked him how Rocket Man is doing. Long gas lines forming in North Korea. Too bad!”

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I spoke with President Moon of South Korea last night. Asked him how Rocket Man is doing. Long gas lines forming in North Korea. Too bad!

12:53 PM - Sep 17, 2017

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Earlier, the White House said in a statement that Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in discussed North Korea’s recent ballistic missile tests during a telephone call on Saturday.

Trump and Moon agreed to exert more pressure on North Korea in this regard, the White House said.

“The two leaders noted that North Korea continues to defy the international community, even after the United Nations strongly condemned North Korea’s repeated provocations twice in the past week,” it said.

“President Trump and President Moon committed to continuing to take steps to strengthen deterrence and defense capabilities and to maximize economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea,” it added.

“The two leaders noted that they will continue their close consultations next week when they meet on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly,” the statement noted.

South Korea’s presidential office spokesman Park Soo-hyun said on Sunday that Moon and Trump agreed on the need for stronger sanctions against North Korea during their call.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump are seen after a joint press conference in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC, on June 30, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

On Monday, the UN Security Council unanimously voted to adopt new sanctions against North Korea over its missile and nuclear activities. The resolution, drafted by the US, was the eighth against Pyongyang over its ballistic missile and nuclear programs since 2006.

The North Korean leader ordered the production of more rocket warheads and engines last month, shortly after the United States suggested that its threats of military action and sanctions were having an impact on Pyongyang’s behavior.

Pyongyang says it will not give up on its nuclear deterrence unless Washington ends its hostile policy toward the country and dissolves the US-led UN command in South Korea. Thousands of US soldiers are stationed in South Korea and Japan.