--- title: Donald Trump Praises North Korea's Kim Jong Un on Twitter description: President Donald Trump, after weeks of fiery rhetoric aimed at Kim Jong Un, abruptly reversed course. But Trump's praise was premature. canonical: https://time.com/4902707/donald-trump-north-korea-kim-jong-un/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-16T14:14:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:29:11.406Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Just Claimed a Victory Against North Korea. It's Probably Premature og:description: Kim Jong Un made clear the possibility of a nuclear attack is still very much alive og:url: https://time.com/4902707/donald-trump-north-korea-kim-jong-un/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3acb49636a8ecdc0/6988d9ef196cf49af40417ca/donald-trump-north-korea1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4070 og:image:height: 2289 og:image:alt: President Trump Speaks On Infrastructure Meeting Held At Trump Tower og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Just Claimed a Victory Against North Korea. It's Probably Premature twitter:description: Kim Jong Un made clear the possibility of a nuclear attack is still very much alive twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3acb49636a8ecdc0/6988d9ef196cf49af40417ca/donald-trump-north-korea1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Just Claimed a Victory Against North Korea. It's Probably Premature > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=8e50c2c3-1089-425d-b7e6-42e6ec2f5bd3&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Again Blames 'Both Sides' for Charlottesville Violence [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Again Blames 'Both Sides' for Charlottesville Violence](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EzwfOun0.m3u8) (1:32)  _Published 2017-08-15. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that anti-racism protesters bear some of the blame for the violent rallies in Charlottesville, returning to his original comments that "both sides" were responsible for the deadly clashes._  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Aug 16, 2017 2:14 PM UTC  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Aug 16, 2017 2:14 PM UTC President [Donald Trump](http://time.com/4902502/donald-trump-charlottesville-press-conference/?xid=homepage), after weeks of fiery rhetoric aimed at Kim Jong Un, abruptly reversed course Wednesday morning and praised the North Korean dictator, suggesting that the country is backing down from its [nuclear threats](http://time.com/4894984/war-fiery-words-between-north-korea-us/) against the United States. “Kim Jong Un of North Korea made a very wise and well reasoned decision,” Trump said on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/897784898865553409). “The alternative would have been both catastrophic and unacceptable!” But Trump’s praise was almost certainly premature. His tweet followed [reports](http://time.com/4900826/north-korea-wont-attack-guam/) that Kim had inspected his country’s missile program and said he would watch the “foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees” for a little longer before deciding whether to launch missiles at the U.S. territory of [Guam.](http://time.com/4895904/north-korea-guam-why-threatening-donald-trump-missiles/) But Kim, in remarks reported by the Associated Press and [_The Guardian_](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/15/north-korea-kim-foolish-yankees-guam-missile-attack) and attributed to the country’s official news agency KCNA, very much left open the possibility of a nuclear attack. “The United States, which was the first to bring numerous strategic nuclear equipment near us, should first make the right decision and show through actions if they wish to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula and prevent a dangerous military clash,” Kim said. He warned that a nuclear attack was still a possibility if the U.S. continues to take “extremely dangerous, reckless actions.” > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/897784898865553409) Trump swapped escalating threats with [North Korea](http://time.com/4845411/north-korea-missile-us-nuclear/) last week, [promising to unleash](http://time.com/4892102/donald-trump-north-korea-news/) “fire and fury like the world has never seen,” as North Korea said it was preparing to fire missiles near Guam. ## Transcript I've condemned neo- Nazis, I've condemned many different groups, but not all of those people were neo- Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists. I think there's blame on both sides. You look at both sides I think there's blame on both sides, and I have no doubt about it. What about the alt- left? They came charging, as you say, at the alt- right. Do they have any semblance of guilt? [ CROSSTALK ]. Let me ask you this, what about the fact they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs, Do they have any problem? I think they do. There was a group on this side, you can call them the left, you've just called them the left, that came violently attacking the other group. So you can say what you want, but that's they way it is. You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down, to them, a very, very important statue, And the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name . >> [ UNKNOWN ] George Washington was a slave owner. Was George Washington a slave owner? So, will George Washington now lose his status? Excuse me. Are we going to take down statues to George Washington How about Thomas Jefferson? What do you think about Thomas Jefferson? You like him? I do love Thomas Jefferson. Okay good. Are we gonna take down the statue? Cuz he was a major slave owner. Now are we gonna take down his statue? So you know what? It's fine. You're changing history. You're changing culture. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4902707/donald-trump-north-korea-kim-jong-un/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4902707/donald-trump-north-korea-kim-jong-un/"},"headline":"President Trump Just Claimed a Victory Against North Korea. 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