President Trump referred to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a “little rocket man” Wednesday, a day after Kim’s government tested an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Trump deviated from prepared remarks in Missouri after saying tax cuts would be “rocket fuel” for the U.S. economy.
“Little rocket man,” he said, appearing to savor the pejorative.
“He is a sick puppy,” Trump added, before moving on with the speech.
Trump tweeted earlier in the day that he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping and that “additional major sanctions will be imposed on North Korea today. This situation will be handled!”
Tensions between Trump and North Korea accelerated in August, when Trump threatened to annihilate the isolated communist nation after it considered firing missiles near Guam.
In September, North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear weapon test, prompting Trump to lean on China’s government to put financial pressure on Kim.
That bomb test, along with the Tuesday missile test, suggest marked advances in North Korean technology since the country tested its first weapon in 2006.
The North Korean government has not reacted kindly to Trump’s dismissive nicknames for its leader.
Earlier this month, it called Trump “an old lunatic, mean trickster and human reject.”
Trump responded calling Kim “short and fat,” prompting North Korean state media to declare him “a hideous criminal sentenced to death by the Korean people” for crimes including daring to “malignantly hurt the dignity of the supreme leadership.”
