Donald Trump's War Of Words With North Korea Refuses To Abate

The war of words between President Donald Trump and North Korea, which the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov likened to a “kindergarten fight between children,” shows no sign of abating.

The latest in the slanging match saw President Donald Trump locking horns with North Korea’s Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, who speaking at the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday said a rocket strike on the American mainland was "inevitable."

“Trump's depiction of Kim (Jong Un) as Rocket Man makes our rocket's visit to the entire U.S. mainland inevitable all the more," Ri Said.

He also termed the U.S. president "a mentally deranged person full of megalomania.”

Trump took the bait, and followed the speech with a tweet, saying the North Korean foreign minister was echoing “little Rocket man” and they “won’t be around for much longer."

The war of words could have been easier to dismiss as just saber rattling, but the rhetoric is tinged with actions from both sides that can easily escalate into a combat that can take nuclear proportions.

Even as Ri was addressing the UN General Assembly, the Pentagon announced that U.S. bombers and fighter escorts had flown to the farthest point north of the Korean Demilitarized Zone than any such U.S. aircraft this century.

"This mission is a demonstration of U.S. resolve and a clear message that the president has many military options to defeat any threat," Defense Department spokesman Dana White said in a statement.

"North Korea's weapons program is a grave threat to the Asia-Pacific region and the entire international community. We are prepared to use the full range of military capabilities to defend the U.S. homeland and our allies," White said.

Speaking to the UN General Assembly last week, Trump had threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea and mocked its leader as a "Rocket Man" on a "suicide mission."

The president followed his performance at the UN by announcing more economic sanctions against Pyongyang on Thursday, targeting foreign companies that deal with the North.

"North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile development is a grave threat to peace and security in our world and it is unacceptable that others financially support this criminal, rogue regime," Trump said, before parleying with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae- in New York.

Hours later, in a rare direct statement delivered straight to camera, Kim responded by saying Trump was "deranged" and vowed the president would "pay dearly" for threatening to "totally destroy" North Korea.

"I am now thinking hard about what response he could have expected when he allowed such eccentric words to trip off his tongue," Kim said. "I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire."

Speaking to reporters shortly after his leader’s statement, Ri told reporters in New York that Pyongyang could test a powerful nuclear weapon over the Pacific Ocean in response to Trump's threats of military action

Not to be left behind, Trump on Friday continued his aggressive rhetoric against Kim.

"Kim Jong Un of North Korea, who is obviously a madman who doesn't mind starving or killing his people, will be tested like never before!" the president tweeted.

With the barbs flying back and forth with amusing and frightening regularity, the pause that Lavrov had called for "to calm down the hotheads," seems unlikely.