North Korea's latest threat to the US was unlike any other from the regime

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North Korea's latest threat to the US was unlike any other from the regime

kim jong un

KCNA via Reuters

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un makes a statement regarding President Donald Trump's speech, in Pyongyang, September 22, 2017.

North Korea's warning to President Donald Trump and the US on Thursday may have included its usual fiery rhetoric, but underneath its superfluous metaphors, the regime may have been signaling a more personal message.

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The statement, which called Trump "a frightened dog" and a "dotard," was delivered by Kim Jong Un himself, and even included a picture of the North Korean leader sitting behind a desk, apparently reading from the statement.

Although official communications from North Korea are normally filled with bellicose remarks and often met with skepticism, the country's latest one appeared to take on a more overt personal tone, according to North Korean experts. Such a move is not typical of the North Korean regime.

Kim Jong Un's statement took a jab at Trump in part by echoing critics who have rebuked Trump's own off-the-cuff remarks in the early months of his presidency.

Kim Jong Un said of Trump's Tuesday appearance before the UN General Assembly: "I expected he would make stereotyped, prepared remarks a little different from what he used to utter in his office on the spur of the moment as he had to speak on the world's biggest official diplomatic stage."

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north korea missile tests

KCNA

"But, far from making remarks of any persuasive power that can be viewed to be helpful to defusing tension, he made unprecedented rude nonsense one has never heard from any of his predecessors."

Meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday, Trump doubled-down and moved to impose further sanctions against North Korea, on top of the UN Security Council's recent sanctions.

During his UN speech, Trump decried North Korea's continued provocations and said if it continued, the US would "have no choice but to totally destroy" the country.

North Korea already appeared to be following through with its latest threat. Shortly after Kim Jong Un made his statement, North Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Ri Yong Ho said that his country may consider testing a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean, according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.

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"It could be the most powerful detonation of an H-bomb in the Pacific," Ri said. "We have no idea about what actions could be taken as it will be ordered by leader Kim Jong Un."

It was not immediately clear whether North Korea was planning such an action. The regime claimed that it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb earlier this month, and conducted another missile test days later.