Trump calls North Korea leader 'madman' who cannot be let on the loose - transcript

[webfact]

Trump calls North Korea leader 'madman' who cannot be let on the loose - transcript

REUTERS

 

U.S. President Donald Trump arrives at the Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy, May 23, 2017. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a call last month with the Philippines' president, U.S. President Donald Trump described North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un as a "madman with nuclear weapons" who could not be let on the loose, according to a leaked Philippine transcript of their call.

 

Trump told Duterte in the April 29 call that the United States would "take care of North Korea," and had a lot of firepower in the region, although it did not want to use it, according to a transcript of their conversation published by the Washington Post and the investigative news site The Intercept.

 

The document included a "confidential" cover sheet from the Americas division of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.

 

A senior U.S. official said the Trump administration did not dispute the accuracy of the transcript and declined to comment further.

 

Trump requested Duterte's help in impressing on China, North Korea's neighbour and only major ally, the need for it to help rein in Kim, the transcript showed.

 

"We can't let a madman with nuclear weapons let on the loose like that," Trump said. "We have a lot of firepower, more than he has, times 20, but we don't want to use it."

 

The U.S. president told Duterte that Washington had sent two nuclear submarines to waters off the Korean peninsula, comments likely to raise further questions about his handling of sensitive information after U.S. officials said Trump discussed intelligence about Islamic State with Russian officials this month.

 

"We have two submarines - the best in the world. We have two nuclear submarines, not that we want to use them at all," Trump said.

The Philippines foreign ministry said earlier in a statement that it had no comment on news reports about the leaked transcript.

 

But it said that under Philippine law there was "criminal and civil liability attached to the hacking, unauthorized disclosure and use of illegally or inadvertently obtained confidential government documents."

 

The ministry said it valued the need for transparency, but the release of some information could affect national security and regional stability. "As such, we appeal to the sense of responsibility and patriotism of all concerned," it added.

 

North Korea has vowed to develop a nuclear-tipped missile that can strike the U.S. mainland, presenting Trump with perhaps his biggest foreign policy challenge.

 

It has conducted dozens of missile launches and two nuclear bomb tests since the start of last year.

 

Trump has said "a major, major conflict" with North Korea is possible and that all options are on the table, but his administration says it wants to resolve the crisis diplomatically with the aid of tougher sanctions.

 

On May 1, just after the call with Duterte, Trump said he would be "honoured" to meet Kim Jong Un, under the right conditions.

 

According to the transcript, Trump said he hoped China would act to solve the North Korea problem.

 

"They really have the means because a great degree of their stuff comes through China," Trump said. "They (Beijing) are doing certain things, like not accepting calls. But if China doesn't do it, we will do it," Trump said, having asked Duterte if he thought China had influence over Kim.

 

Trump said Kim had the "powder" - an apparent reference to North Korea's nuclear capability - "but he doesn't have the delivery system."

 

"All his rockets are crashing. That's the good news. But eventually when he gets that delivery system," Trump said without finishing his sentence.

 

While North Korea missile tests have frequently failed, Trump and Duterte spoke before an apparently successful test of a long-range missile this month.

 

Western experts say that test appeared to have advanced North Korea's aim of developing a missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, although the capability was probably still several years away.

 

The director of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, General Vincent Stewart, said on Tuesday that if left unchecked, North Korea was on an "inevitable" path to obtaining a nuclear-armed missile capable of striking the United States.

 

In a show of force, the United States has sent the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Carl Vinson to waters off the Korean peninsula, where it joined the Michigan, a nuclear submarine that docked in South Korea in April.

 

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom, Matt Spetalnick in WASHINGTON and Karen Lema in MANILA; editing by Nick Macfie and Jonathan Oatis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-05-25

[grumbleweed]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

"We can't let a madman with nuclear weapons let on the loose like that,"

True, one madman with his finger on the button is more than enough

[ezzra]

'Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me'

he needs to do much better than calling those bad people Losers and madmen....

[sweatalot]

When he is right then he is right

[tonray]

The guy has no sense of propriety, giving out classified info and endangering the lives of our servicemen and women. What a dunce.

[mtls2005]

But Duterte is doing a bang-up job on the "drug problem"?

 

And Trump telling Duterte that we had two nuclear subs in the area seems criminal?

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-submarines-idUSKBN18K15Y

 

 

[jerojero]

Pot. Kettle. Black. Trump's a genuine hypocrite. Nuff said.

[DM07]

look who's talking!

[Khon Kaen Dave]

So the cozy little chat between Donny and our little Kimmy is out of the question,now then.

[sanemax]

2 hours ago, tonray said:

The guy has no sense of propriety, giving out classified info and endangering the lives of our servicemen and women. What a dunce.

Although Trump didnt actually "give out any information"

It was hacked and leaked , it wasnt a public statement

[tonray]

9 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Although Trump didnt actually "give out any information"

It was hacked and leaked , it wasnt a public statement

It would seem some unnamed Pentagon sources are horrified that Trump detailed submarine locations, for obvious reasons. The leak and hack is a separate issue.

[smotherb]

2 hours ago, ezzra said:

'Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me'

he needs to do much better than calling those bad people Losers and madmen....

Well, this call to Duterte was supposedly April 29, and April 30 he said Un was a "smart cookie." Was Trump waffling, lying, or simply telling people what he thinks they want to hear?

[The Deerhunter]

54 minutes ago, smotherb said:

Well, this call to Duterte was supposedly April 29, and April 30 he said Un was a "smart cookie." Was Trump waffling, lying, or simply telling people what he thinks they want to hear?

It is very likely the former or possibly the middle option;  but whichever, he probably fancies it as the latter.  In the manner of being the self styled grand-master of deals.

Edited May 25, 2017 by The Deerhunter

[Krataiboy]

As the old saying goes, it takes one to recognise one.

[YetAnother]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

"We have two submarines - the best in the world. We have two nuclear submarines, not that we want to use them at all," Trump said.

i doubt gunboat diplomacy will work with n korea; they seem on too wide an orbit

[Rob13]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

 

"We can't let a madman with nuclear weapons let on the loose like that," Trump said. "

 

[hawker9000]

6 hours ago, grumbleweed said:

True, one madman with his finger on the button is more than enough

Lol.  Comedy awards time again, already?

 

Can't wait to hear the tone of your witless mockery after fatboy pushes HIS button.

[bendejo]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Trump calls North Korea leader 'madman'

Upon hearing this, Kim Jong Badhaircut went into a rage, breaking things and commanding that people to be executed immediately.

 

 

[oxo1947]

News: Trump would be "honoured" to meet North Korean dictator

. “He’s my kind of guy — crazy, overweight and has a ridiculous haircut."

 

Said North Korea's dictator..........................

[dunroaming]

4 hours ago, sanemax said:

Although Trump didnt actually "give out any information"

It was hacked and leaked , it wasnt a public statement

A bit like "you can grab them by the p*ssy!"

[Andaman Al]

I feel sure that Trump will be first to be awarded the newly created, Nobel Prize for Irony.

Edited May 25, 2017 by Andaman Al

[dunroaming]

1 hour ago, hawker9000 said:

Lol.  Comedy awards time again, already?

 

Can't wait to hear the tone of your witless mockery after fatboy pushes HIS button.

You mean Trump or Kim?  Both are nuts enough to do it but  I would think that Kim is less likely!

[Andaman Al]

7 minutes ago, dunroaming said:

You mean Trump or Kim?  Both are nuts enough to do it but  I would think that Kim is less likely!

That's because Kim is 'smart'  

[thaihome]

1 hour ago, Andaman Al said:

I feel sure that Trump will be first to be awarded the newly created, Nobel Prize for Irony.

It would have to be called the Inadvertent Irony Nobel prize.

 

To use actual irony shows some level of intellectual development. 

 

TH 

[hawker9000]

You mean Trump or Kim?  Both are nuts enough to do it but  I would think that Kim is less likely!

And that's pretty much the thought process (trying to be kind here ...) that brought us to this point. Fatboy thanks you.

[bandito]

War does not determine who is right, only who is left.

 

Trump are you listening?

Talk about madmans.

[Traveler19491]

On 5/25/2017 at 10:18 AM, sanemax said:

Although Trump didnt actually "give out any information"

It was hacked and leaked , it wasnt a public statement

The information he gave the Russians, who were not qualified to receive it, occurred in the Oval Office...a location I would assume is reasonably secure...and the information got out. Trump discussed this information with someone not qualified to receive it during a phone call...and the information got out. The fact is that classified information is classified for a reason and is never to be discussed with anyone who does not have a security clearance equal to the level of classification of the information. While Trump is legally entitled to discuss the information with whomever he chooses, the wisdom of doing so is lacking. But then, using the word "wisdom" in the same sentence with "Trump" is never appropriate.

[selftaopath]

On 5/25/2017 at 10:36 AM, smotherb said:

Well, this call to Duterte was supposedly April 29, and April 30 he said Un was a "smart cookie." Was Trump waffling, lying, or simply telling people what he thinks they want to hear?

He's ALWAYS lying. 

[Andaman Al]

On 5/26/2017 at 10:55 AM, Traveler19491 said:

While Trump is legally entitled to discuss the information with whomever he chooses

Only when the information is the property of the USA. In the case of the Russians, that information was not the property of the USA, it belonged to a foreign allied Government, and without giving any thought to the safety or compromising of field operatives, Trump disclosed to an adversary. Wisdom and Trump should not even be used on the same website let alone sentence.