--- 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: 2026-02-23T17:00:37.134Z 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: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Aug 16, 2017 2:14 PM UTC  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](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. ```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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