U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea. Photo: Lee Jin-man / AP, Pool Photo
President Trump addressed South Korea's National Assembly on Tuesday night, saying he was prepared to offer Kim Jong-un's regime "a path to a far better future," but only if the regime gives up its nuclear ambitions. He addressed Kim directly, saying:
"Today, I hope I speak not only for our countries, but for all civilized nations, when I say: Do not underestimate us. And do not try us."
Other highlights from Trump's speech:
- "We call on every nation including China and Russia to fully implement U.N. Security Council resolutions, downgrade diplomatic relations with the regime, and sever all ties of trade and technology."
- "We did not choose to draw here...the line between peace and war, between decency and depravity, between law and tyranny, between hope and total despair. It is a line that has been drawn many times in many places throughout history. To hold that line is a choice free nations have always had to make."
- "North Korea is right about only one thing: the Korean people do have a glorious destiny, but they could not be more wrong about what that destiny looks like. The destiny of the Korean people is not to suffer in the bondage of oppression, but to thrive in the glory of freedom."