Trump says the US would be at war with North Korea by now if it weren't for him

Kevin Lim/The Strait Times/Handout/Getty

Kim Jong-un with Donald Trump.

• Donald Trump tweeted on Tuesday morning that "we would now be at War with North Korea" but for his personal efforts.
• The claim is impossible to test.
• Early in Trump's presidency, he made outright threats of nuclear war as part of his "maximum pressure" strategy.
• Tensions have calmed significantly, culminating in Trump and Kim Jong Un meeting in Singapore last month.

President Donald Trump has said that the US would currently be at war with North Korea if it weren't for him.

In a tweet on Tuesday morning, Trump claimed credit for a cessation in nuclear testing or rocket launches by Kim Jong Un's regime and said his efforts to denuclearize the peninsula are "going well."

He wrote:

"Many good conversations with North Korea-it is going well! In the meantime, no Rocket Launches or Nuclear Testing in 8 months. All of Asia is thrilled.

"Only the Opposition Party, which includes the Fake News, is complaining. If not for me, we would now be at War with North Korea!"

His claim that he single-handedly prevented a war with North Korea is impossible to test.

Earlier in his presidency, many experts said his "maximum pressure" approach to the regime actually made armed conflict significantly more likely.

At one point, he explicitly threatened to unleash "fire and fury like the world has never seen" in response to North Korean aggression.

His recent encounter with Kim Jong Un, the first official meeting between a North Korean leader and a sitting US president, was hailed by some as a diplomatic breakthrough, and has undoubtedly reduced tensions.

At a press briefing on Monday, the White House announced that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit North Korea on Thursday to meet Kim and "continue the ongoing and important work of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula."

More to follow.