President Donald Trump on Nov. 17 told North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that his regime went too far by describing former Vice President Joe Biden as “a rabid dog” who should be “beaten to death with a stick.”
Coming to the defense of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, Trump addressed the North Korean leader on Twitter on Nov. 17 saying that Biden “may be Sleepy and Very Slow,” but “he is not a ‘rabid dog’” and “is actually somewhat better than that.”
Trump’s comments came after North Korea’s official KCNA news agency on Friday, Nov. 15, made the remarks, adding that he was showing signs of “the final stage of dementia,” and the “time has come for him to depart his life.”
KCNA did not exactly say how Biden had insulted Kim Jong Un, but said in a commentary, “Such a guy had the temerity to dare slander the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK [the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea].”
“It was the last-ditch efforts of the rabid dog expediting his death,” KCNA said, misspelling Biden’s name. “Rabid dogs like Baiden [sic] can hurt lots of people if they are allowed to run about. They must be beaten to death with a stick, before it is too late.”
Biden has been critical of summits between the two leaders in recent years.
After coming to Biden’s defense, Trump went on to comment on efforts to negotiate an agreement that aims to halt North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
“I am the only one who can get you where you have to be. You should act quickly, get the deal done,” Trump tweeted.
Although there are summits scheduled between the pair currently, Trump hinted at a possible meeting in the near future and wrote, “See you soon!”
North Korea has previously credited a “close personal relationship” between Kim and Trump for saving ties between their countries from a destructive pattern of hostility. The leaders have met three times to discuss improving ties and ending the North’s nuclear weapons program.
North Korea is known for colorful attacks on foreign leaders, with propaganda posters believed to be from the country once describing Trump himself as a “mad dog.” Pyongyang also denounced Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton as a “war maniac” and “human scum.”
In May, North Korea called Biden “an imbecile” for criticizing its leader.
