Trump warns Kim Jong Un to make a deal — or face 'total decimation'
President Trump on Thursday suggested to reporters that if North Korea refused to make a denuclearization deal, leader Kim Jong Un would "most likely" suffer the same fate as murdered Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
National Security Adviser John Bolton recently angered North Korean officials by saying that Libya's 2003 denuclearization could serve as a model for persuading Kim to give up his nuclear weapons program. The statement alarmed North Korea, as Libya's Gadhafi was killed after surrendering the nuclear program.
When asked about Bolton's comment, Trump misinterpreted the "model," The Guardian reports, and offered his opinion instead on the NATO-led intervention in Libya that led to Gadhafi's death.
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"The model, if you look at that model with Gadhafi, that was a total decimation. We went in there to beat him. Now that model would take place if we don't make a deal, most likely. But if we make a deal, I think [Kim] is going to be very, very happy," said Trump.
Trump said that Bolton "was talking about if we are going to be having a problem" with North Korea, and said the U.S. was "willing to do a lot" to make a deal and work towards a better relationship with North Korea.
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Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
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