North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has weighed in on the heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula, with a personal analysis of President Trump's Wednesday speech at the United Nation General Assembly.Trump's speech, which was notable for its apocalyptic rhetoric — it vowed to "totally destroy" North Korea and its 25 million people if the United States had to defend itself and its allies — aroused greater fears of military miscalculation that could lead to catastrophe.Kim, in a lengthy statement released by North Korean state media KCNA, used the first person to respond to Trump's own fiery statements, which is rather unusual and exceptional, says Martyn Williams, a longtime North Korea media specialist who runs the site North Korea Tech."This is the translation of a direct message from Kim to President Trump. I don't think I've seen anything like this before from Kim Jong Un, and it could be a first for North Korean media," Williams says.In the message, Kim starts off bemused, saying he expected boilerplate talking points from Trump at the UN. "But," Kim says in the statement, "He made unprecedented rude nonsense one has never heard from any of his predecessors. A frightened dog barks louder."Kim then goes on to lecture Trump, saying he should better read the room and practice prudence when making these types of international speeches, then reminds Trump that the pledge to "totally destroy" a nation state and its people would undermine the very point of the United Nations, which is to maintain global order and peace."The mentally deranged behavior of the U.S. president openly expressing on the UN arena the unethical will to 'totally destroy' a sovereign state, beyond the boundary of threats of regime change or overturn of social system, makes even those with normal thinking faculty think about discretion and composure."Kim then builds to his climax, which points out that rather than scaring him off his path, Trump's threats to North Korea actually justify Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions. (North Korea maintains that it is developing nuclear capabilities to defend itself against the United States. U.S. diplomats, including current Secretary of State Tillerson, have stressed that America does not seek "regime change"in North Korea, but Trump's rhetoric often confuses that policy.)Here's Kim Jong Un:
Kim Jong Un Issues Statement on Trump: 'A Frightened Dog Barks Louder'
![TV screens in a Seoul, South Korea, store on Wednesday show news coverage of the latest exchange of insults between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1931cb1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3994x2246+0+0/resize/880x495!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fimages%2Fnews%2Fnpr%2F%5Bcurrent-date%3Acustom%3AY%5D%2F%5Bcurrent-date%3Acustom%3Am%5D%2F552762175_1694887814.jpg)