--- description: President Donald Trump, after weeks of fiery rhetoric aimed at Kim Jong Un, abruptly reversed course. But Trump's praise was premature. title: Trump Just Claimed a Victory Against North Korea. It's Probably Premature image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3acb49636a8ecdc0/6988d9ef196cf49af40417ca/donald-trump-north-korea1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Donald Trump](/tag/donald-trump/) ## Donald Trump Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # President Trump Just Claimed a Victory Against North Korea. It's Probably Premature  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 16, 2017 2:14 PM CUT  President Donald Trump speaks following a meeting on infrastructure at Trump Tower on Aug. 15, 2017 in New York City. President Donald Trump speaks following a meeting on infrastructure at Trump Tower on Aug. 15, 2017 in New York City.Drew Angerer/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 16, 2017 2:14 PM CUT President [Donald Trump](http://time.com/4902502/donald-trump-charlottesville-press-conference/?xid=homepage "undefined"), 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/ "undefined") 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 "undefined"). “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/ "undefined") 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/ "undefined") 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 "undefined") 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/ "undefined") last week, [promising to unleash](http://time.com/4892102/donald-trump-north-korea-news/ "undefined") “fire and fury like the world has never seen,” as North Korea said it was preparing to fire missiles near Guam. ```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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