Clinton threatened to 'end' North Korea long before Trump did

Bill Clinton's 'it would mean the end of their country as they know it' casts the same shadow as Trump's

The world is reacting to US President Donald Trump’s UN speech, as Trump signaled and mocked the leader of North Korea as “rocket man”. The jab and mockery wasn’t done from his Twitter account, but was on the world’s largest international stage; the United Nations assembly.



“The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea. Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime. The United States is ready, willing and able, but hopefully this will not be necessary. That’s what the United Nations is all about; that’s what the United Nations is for. Let’s see how they do,” said Trump.

Shortly after, the media exploded over Trump’s threat to “totally destroy” North Korea, and there was wide criticism over his words. However, he is not the first US president to make such claims. In July 1993, Bill Clinton was dealing with Kim’s predecessor. The Washington Post’s archive shows that president Clinton made similar claims against the N Korean regime some 14 years ago.

The article read, “Clinton said in an interview Friday on NBC television: "We would overwhelmingly retaliate if {the North Koreans} were to ever use, to develop and use nuclear weapons. It would mean the end of their country as they know it." He added, "North Korea is just one of many renegade nations that would like to have nuclear weapons and be unaccountable for them, and we can't let it happen.”

The words, “it would mean the end of their country as they know it” said by the former president seem to cast the same shadow on the Korean country much like Trump’s speech, however, Clinton never faced the same kind of media backlash. Instead, people at the time thought that it was a necessary step in the right direction.



Trump’s UNGA speech threatened to destroy North Korea, but this wasn’t the first time a president of the US openly denounced the country; Bill Clinton’s subtle yet direct hit at the ‘end’ of North Korea 14 years ago was a famous address. Both presidents sound eerily similar in their violent claims against the N Korean regime.