Silke Jasso
President Donald Trump went on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday and said that while he isn’t sure if North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is sane, he does regard him as a “pretty smart cookie.”
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Trump said that Kim Jong-un’s ascent to power at a young age and dealing with people who probably wanted to take him out is a sign that he is a “smart cookie.
“People are saying, ‘Is he sane?’ I have no idea. I can tell you this, and a lot of people don’t like when I say it, but he was a young man of 26 or 27 when he took over from his father, when his father died. He’s dealing with obviously very tough people, in particular the generals and others,” he said. “And at a very young age, he was able to assume power. A lot of people, I’m sure, tried to take that power away, whether it was his uncle or anybody else. And he was able to do it. So obviously, he’s a pretty smart cookie.”
But what if Kim Jong-un does a nuclear test, you ask? Trump said that if such a thing were to occur he “will not be happy,” that China wouldn’t be happy either, and he said “we’ll see” to a military response.
“But we have a situation that […] we cannot let what’s been going on for a long period of years continue,”  he said. “If he does a nuclear test, I will not be happy. And I can tell you also, I don’t believe that the president of China, who is a very respected man, will be happy either.”
“I don’t know [about military action]. I mean, we’ll see,” the president said.
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You can watch the whole interview above.
