--- ---  # 'I Too Have a Nuclear Button.' President Trump Hits Back at North Korea's Leader by [Eli Meixler](https://time.com/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Jan 3, 2018 2:17 AM UTC  President Donald Trump speaks in an address at the White House in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 6, 2017. President Donald Trump speaks in an address at the White House in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 6, 2017.Kevin Lamarque—Reuters by [Eli Meixler](https://time.com/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Jan 3, 2018 2:17 AM UTC U.S. President Donald Trump has warned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a tweet that the U.S. also has a nuclear button and hinted at his willingness to push it. Trump lashed out at Kim in a tweet on Jan. 2, ridiculing the North Korean regime as “depleted and food starved” before declaring: “I too have a Nuclear Button, but a much bigger & more powerful one” than that of North Korea. “And my Button works!” Trump wrote. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/948355557022420992) Trump was responding to Kim Jong Un’s [New Year’s address](http://time.com/5083086/north-korea-kim-jong-un-new-year-address/), in which the North Korean leader suggested he was willing to send a delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics next month in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and signaling a possible opening for dialogue with his southern rivals. But the speech also contained threats reminiscent of his [exchanges with Trump](http://time.com/4953283/kim-jong-un-donald-trump-insults/) last year. “The U.S. should know that the button for nuclear weapons is on my table,” Kim said, according to an Associated Press translation. Analysts suggested that the conciliatory rhetoric Kim directed at Seoul may be intended to drive a rift between resident Moon Jae In-led liberal government, which [made overtures to North Korea](http://time.com/4860307/south-north-korea-talks-reunions/) last year, and South Korea’s allies in Washington. South Korea responded promptly to Kim’s speech, proposing Jan. 9 as a date for bilateral [talks over Olympic cooperation](http://time.com/5083710/south-korea-north-korea-olympics/). Trump Warns North Korea About U.S. 'Nuclear Button' ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5085367/donald-trump-north-korea-nuclear-button-tweet/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5085367/donald-trump-north-korea-nuclear-button-tweet/"},"headline":"'I Too Have a Nuclear Button.' President Trump Hits Back at North Korea's Leader","datePublished":"2018-01-03T02:17:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:43:13.227Z","description":"He was responding to threats made by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a New Year address","url":"https://time.com/5085367/donald-trump-north-korea-nuclear-button-tweet/","keywords":["North Korea","White House","Donald Trump","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt99b53ffad332833c/6988f6e522fb851001e2440d/rtx43bj5.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eli Meixler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eli/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt99b53ffad332833c/6988f6e522fb851001e2440d/rtx43bj5.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"FILE PHOTO - U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an address from the White House in Washington, U.S.","caption":"FILE PHOTO - U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an address from the White House in Washington, U.S.","creditText":"Kevin Lamarque—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/north-korea/","name":"North Korea"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5085367/donald-trump-north-korea-nuclear-button-tweet/","name":"'I Too Have a Nuclear Button.' President Trump Hits Back at North Korea's Leader"}}]}] ```