--- title: President Trump Downplays North Korea's Human Rights Abuses description: In an interview, President Donald Trump downplayed allegations of North Korea's brutality and human rights abuses canonical: https://time.com/5311865/trump-north-korea-human-rights-abuses/ author: Laignee Barron article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-06-14T05:23:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T20:34:05.947Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Downplays North Korea's Human Rights Record og:description: "A lot of other people have done some really bad things," he said og:url: https://time.com/5311865/trump-north-korea-human-rights-abuses/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a5ab8b43b43ad2e/698933070a4a22edca9d2f5a/gettyimages-971757646.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: U.S. President Trump Meets North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un During Landmark Summit In Singapore og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Downplays North Korea's Human Rights Record twitter:description: "A lot of other people have done some really bad things," he said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a5ab8b43b43ad2e/698933070a4a22edca9d2f5a/gettyimages-971757646.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'A Lot of People Have Done Bad Things.' President Trump Downplays North Korea's Human Rights Abuses > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 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. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. 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. by [Laignee Barron](https://time.com/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Jun 14, 2018 5:23 AM UTC  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump during their summit at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island, Singapore on June 12, 2018. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump during their summit at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island, Singapore on June 12, 2018. Handout/Getty Images by [Laignee Barron](https://time.com/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Jun 14, 2018 5:23 AM UTC Responding to concerns that his first face-to-face meeting with Kim Jong Un [glossed over](http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/392174-trump-brushes-off-kims-human-rights-record-saying-a-lot-of-others) the North Korean leader’s human rights record, President Donald Trump on Wednesday night downplayed allegations of the regime’s brutality. In an interview with Fox News’ Brett Baier on Air Force One [as he was leaving](http://time.com/5309069/donald-trump-kim-jong-un-meet-summit/) Singapore, Trump brushed aside Kim Jong Un’s oppression of his people, according to transcriptions by The Hill. “Yeah, but so have a lot of other people have done some really bad things,” Trump said, adding, “I mean, I could go through a lot of nations where a lot of bad things were done.” > [](https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1007023413922320384) Trump then went on to praise on Kim, calling him a “tough guy” who took control of his country from a young age. “I don’t care who you are, what you are, what kind of advantage you have,” Trump said. “If you can do that at 27-years-old, you, I mean, that’s one-in-10,000 that can do that.” Throughout the interview, Trump called Kim — who he has previously referred to as “little rocket man” — a “very smart guy” and a “great negotiator.” Following the historic summit between the two leaders in Singapore, [Trump said Kim](http://time.com/5309357/trump-kim-summit-signing-agreement-comments/) was a “talented man” who “loves his country.” His warm embrace and flattery of Kim this week has particularly rankled critics, and it comes [amid a feud](http://time.com/5307303/donald-trump-tweets-g-7-false-statements/) with more traditional American allies. > [](https://twitter.com/DavidJollyFL/status/1006413955080818689) Last year, Human Rights Watch [called](https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/north-korea) the pariah state “one of the most repressive authoritarian states in the world.” Between 80,000 and 120,000 political prisoners are believed to be languishing in North Korea’s prisons, according to a 2014 U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea. The [report](https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/CoIDPRK/Pages/ReportoftheCommissionofInquiryDPRK.aspx) accused the totalitarian state of committing crimes against humanity, including extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence, enforced disappearance and knowingly causing prolonged starvation. During this week’s summit in Singapore, Trump said he “briefly” raised the issue of human rights with Kim. After he arrived back in Washington on Wednesday, Trump tweeted that the regime [no longer poses a nuclear threat](http://time.com/5310807/trump-north-korea-threat/), despite the fact that North Korea is believed to possess [an arsenal](http://time.com/5306831/president-trump-wants-north-korea-to-give-up-nuclear-weapons-heres-just-how-hard-that-would-be/) of a dozen or more nuclear warheads, as well as hundreds of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles capable of striking U.S. military bases. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5311865/trump-north-korea-human-rights-abuses/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5311865/trump-north-korea-human-rights-abuses/"},"headline":"'A Lot of People Have Done Bad Things.' 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