--- description: It turns out that name isn't so original for a North Korean leader. title: Trump Isn't the First To Call a North Korean Leader "Rocket Man." image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt584981fc33557b5e/6988de680a4a22135f9cff6b/20060708issuecovfe400_0.jpg?branch=production&width=828&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 # Donald Trump Isn't the First to Call a North Korean Leader 'Rocket Man'  by [Alana Abramson](/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 19, 2017 8:05 PM CUT  The Economist  by [Alana Abramson](/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 19, 2017 8:05 PM CUT President Trump referred to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as “Rocket Man” in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday. Speaking for the first time at the United Nations, Trump said the 33-year-old leader’s [recent missile tests](http://time.com/4947942/trump-totally-destroy-threatens-north-korea-un-speech-transcript/ "undefined") and other aggressive behavior could lead to the U.S. to [“totally destroy”](http://time.com/4947942/trump-totally-destroy-threatens-north-korea-un-speech-transcript/ "undefined") the country down the road. “Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime,” he said in his first address to the General Assembly. “The United States is ready, willing and able, but hopefully this will not be necessary. Trump [coined his latest nickname](http://time.com/4945254/trump-north-korea-kim-jong-un-rocket-man/ "undefined") over the weekend in a tweet. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/909384837018112000) But he’s not the first to use the epithet for a North Korean leader. In fact, Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il was given the nickname on a July 8, 2006, cover of The Economist, a British business news magazine. The [title](http://www.economist.com/node/21520925 "undefined") of the cover? “Rocket man.” Kim Jong-il died in 2011, and was succeeded by Kim Jong Un. But he too had a preoccupation with developing nuclear weapons; it was under his leadership that North Korea left the United Nations’ Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 2003 and began operating nuclear weapon facilities, ultimately testing seven ballistic missiles, according to a chronology [provided by the Arms Control Association. ](https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/dprkchron "undefined") A representative from the _Economist_ did not immediately respond to requests for comment. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4948559/donald-trump-rocket-man/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4948559/donald-trump-rocket-man/"},"headline":"Donald Trump Isn't the First to Call a North Korean Leader 'Rocket Man'","datePublished":"2017-09-19T20:05:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:30:06.039Z","description":"The Economist beat him to it","url":"https://time.com/4948559/donald-trump-rocket-man/","keywords":["Donald Trump","North Korea","Kim Jong Un","kim jong il","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt584981fc33557b5e/6988de680a4a22135f9cff6b/20060708issuecovfe400_0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alana Abramson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt584981fc33557b5e/6988de680a4a22135f9cff6b/20060708issuecovfe400_0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"20060708issuecovFE400_0","caption":"","creditText":"The Economist","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/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4948559/donald-trump-rocket-man/","name":"Donald Trump Isn't the First to Call a North Korean Leader 'Rocket Man'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"President Trump Threatens to 'Totally Destroy' North Korea in U.N. 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