With his strong words at the UN, can US President Trump turn the world upside down?

Mr Trump's speech could be considered unprecedented or at least will become one of the most memorable moments of the UN General Assembly.

US President Donald Trump warned that Pyongyang must abandon its nuclear program or he threatened to wipe out North Korea, a member state of the United Nations (UN). And he reiterated his unusual statement on Twitter along with the rather rude nickname for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, “Rocket Man.”

President Donald Trump returns to his seat after his eloquent speech at the United Nations General Assembly. Photo: Reuters

“If [the US-ND] is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea,” Mr. Trump said in front of nearly 200 world leaders, stirring up the hall that was always filled with a diplomatic atmosphere.

“Rocket Man (North Korean leader Kim Jong-un) is on a suicide mission for himself and his regime,” Mr. Trump said.

It is difficult to find a speech by a world leader before the United Nations General Assembly that can reach such a level of boldness, if anything, it is only as dramatic as the late Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi tearing up the UN Charter right on the podium. But no one has threatened to wipe out a country of 25 million people like Mr. Trump. No one!

An “unpredictable” President Donald Trump

United Nations members had been waiting anxiously for the current US President's speech, an atmosphere in sharp contrast to the calm before former US President Barack Obama's first speech to the United Nations General Assembly.

But President Donald Trump did not attack the United Nations itself, as many had feared, despite previously criticizing the organization as an “incompetent club” for elites.

In fact, he appeared to accept that the organization played a role in his vision of world order, even though the general impression at the UN General Assembly was that Mr Trump was isolationist and unilateralist.

But he has raised concerns about his rhetorical war with North Korea and worries that he will abandon the historic nuclear deal with Iran, two seemingly separate issues that mirror each other.

Trump called the deal “a disgrace to America” and called Iran “a rogue state with a depleted economy” that exports violence. Under US law, the president must report to Congress every 90 days on whether Iran continues to comply with the nuclear deal and whether it serves US national security interests. President Donald Trump has signaled that he will no longer certify those at the next reporting deadline in mid-October, which would trigger a legislative process in the US to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.

Fiery Statement and Deadly Misunderstanding

Mr. Trump opened his speech by mentioning the “America First” policy and, as usual, listed his economic achievements since being elected President. For the international public, Mr. Trump interpreted this “America First” policy in the language of national sovereignty linked to the founding principles of the United Nations, which Russia and China often invoke.

In essence, Mr. Trump believes that every country must put the interests of its own people first. On that basis, countries can cooperate to solve global problems rather than let international institutions set their agendas. The priority of national interests over universal ideological values ​​is at the heart of the debate in the process of enacting foreign policy in the United States.

But that rarely means a retreat from internationalism, as Mr. Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement does. Or it just reflects Mr. Trump’s transition terminology: for the New York businessman, it’s all about ending “bad deals” for America and finding better ones.

Returning to the North Korea issue, the question is how Trump can reach an agreement with Pyongyang with such destructive threats.

UN members are wondering how to entice or coerce North Korea to the negotiating table with the US while President Donald Trump is trying to scrap the Iran nuclear deal. Or is the US president simply trying to leverage greater UN support for tough sanctions by using the “with us or against us” language that the George W. Bush administration used when referring to the “axis of evil”?

“The United States is ready, willing and able, but hopefully it won’t be necessary,” Trump said. “That’s what the United Nations is about, that’s what it stands for. Let’s see what they do.”

It is possible that Trump administration officials are still pursuing a diplomatic-first strategy, but without a channel of communication with Pyongyang, it is difficult to explain the dramatic escalation in Trump's rhetoric on North Korea.

“As tensions escalate, the risk of miscalculation increases,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned in a speech just before President Donald Trump. “A heated conversation could lead to deadly misunderstandings.”