North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said President Trump is the only person "on a suicide mission," one that is making "our rocket's visit to the entire U.S. mainland inevitable all the more."

In a fiery speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York Saturday, Ri responded to a string of threats from Mr. Trump throughout the week -- particularly Mr. Trump's threat to "totally destroy" North Korea if the U.S. is "forced to defend itself or its allies." Mr. Trump has said "rocket man" Kim Jong-un, North Korea's leader, is on a "suicide mission," but Ri said "none other than Trump himself is on a suicide mission."

"Due to his lacking of basic common knowledge and proper sentiment, he tried to insult the supreme dignity of my country by referring it to a rocket," Ri said. "By doing so however, he committed an irreversible mistake of making our rocket's visit to the entire U.S. mainland inevitable all the more."

Will North Korea test a hydrogen bomb?

Ri also called the president a "mentally deranged person full of megalomania," reflecting comments from Kim earlier this week, when Kim called Mr. Trump a "mentally deranged U.S. dotard."

The North Korean diplomat claimed the North Korean regime possesses a hydrogen bomb that can be coupled with an intercontinental ballistic missile, and is prepared to use its latest technology if needed. Ri on Friday threatened to test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean.

"Trump might not have been aware what is uttered from his mouth, but we will make sure that he bears consequences far beyond his words, far beyond the scope of what he can handle even if he is ready to do so," Ri said.

Ri insisted it is the U.S., not North Korea, that poses an international threat.

"The U.S. claims that the DPRK's possession of H-bomb and ICBM constitutes a global threat, even at the U.N. arena," Ri said, using the acronym for the country. "But such claim is a big lie which is just tantamount to the notorious big lie faked up by the U.S. in 2003 about the existence of weapons in Iraq of weapons of mass destruction in order to invade that country."

Ri tried to argue that nuclear muscle power isn't the DPRK's first option. North Korea, he said, also only intends to target countries that join forces with the U.S.

"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is a responsible nuclear weapons state," Ri said. "We will take preventative measures by merciless preemptive action unless the U.S. and its vessel forces show any sign of operating a decapitating operation on our headquarters or military attack against our country. However, we do not have any intention at all to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against the countries that do not join in the U.S.military actions against the DPRK."

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres met with Ri after his speech, and expressed concern over tensions in the North Korean Peninsula, CBS News' Pamela Falk reports, citing a readout of their conversation. Guterres asked for deescalation, and for the DPRK to implement all of the U.N. Security Council's resolutions. Guterres emphasized the need for a political solution, and for continued humanitarian aid to North Korea.

Moments before Ri was set to speak, U.S. Air Force bombers flew in international airspace east of North Korea. The Pentagon said it's the furthest north any U.S. fighters have flown in the 21st Century.

Mr. Trump has only escalated his comments about North Korea this week.

On Friday, Mr. Trump issued an executive order targeting countries that trade with North Korea. At a Friday night rally for Republican U.S. Senate contender Luther Strange in Alabama, Mr. Trump derided "little rocket man" -- his new favorite term for Kim -- and emphasized that North Korea would be dealt with. Earlier in the day, the president tweeted that he Kim is a "madman" who will be "tested like never before."

Follow below for live updates from the speech earlier.

2:46 p.m. Ri ends his speech, to applause from the North Korean delegation

The handful of members of the North Korea delegation offered their applause as Ri walked off stage, uneventfully.

2:44 p.m.: It's foolish to think "barbaric" sanctions will deter North Korea, Ri says

Although the U.N. and U.S. have imposed tougher sanctions on North Korea and its trading partners, Ri said that won't matter. North Korea is close to completing its nuclear weapons program, he said.

2:41 p.m.: Ri says North Korea doesn't intend to threaten countries that don't join U.S.

Ri said countries that don't join the U.S. in its nuclear attempts have no reason to worry.

2:40 p.m.: Ri says North Korea is a "responsible" weapons state

Ri said North Korea isn't eager to use its nuclear weapons capabilities, comparing the current situation to the "weapons of mass destruction" claims former President George W. Bush made to justify engaging in the Middle East.

2:34 p.m.: Ri says U.S. should "think twice" before threatening DPRK

Ri said "hopefully" nuclear power won't be necessary, and that's not their "first option." But Ri said U.S. and its allies should "think twice" before threatening North Korea.

2:33 p.m.: Ri says DPRK has entered a phase of completing its nuclear force

Ri says North Korea has nearly completed its nuclear weapons goals, including a hydrogen bomb. Ri said the weapons are intended to be a "war deterrent"

2:31 p.m.: Ri says the U.S. is the real threat

"The very reason the DPRK had to possess nuclear weapons is because of the U.S.," Ri said.

2:27 p.m.: Ri: "None other than Trump is on a suicide mission"

Ri said Trump will pay "dearly" for his speech.

"Trump might not be aware what is uttered from his mouth," Ri said, adding North Korea will be "sure" he pays.

2:25 p.m.: Ri says Trump "tainted" U.N. with his comments

Ri said he feels compelled to respond to comments from Mr. Trump, saying he poses a threat to international security.

"Due to his lacking of basic common knowledge and proper sentiment, he tried to insult the supreme dignity of my country by referring it to a rocket," Ri said.

Ri said Trump is, "mentally deranged and full of megalomania."</s>UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea said on Saturday targeting the U.S. mainland with its rockets was inevitable after “Mr. Evil President” Donald Trump called Pyongyang’s leader “rocket man”, further escalating rhetoric over the North’s nuclear weapons and missile programs.

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho’s remarks to the United Nations General Assembly came hours after U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers escorted by fighters flew in international airspace over waters east of North Korea in a show of force the Pentagon said showed the range of military options available to Trump.

Ri’s speech capped a week of rising tensions between Washington and Pyongyang, with Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un trading insults. Trump called Kim a “madman” on Friday, a day after Kim dubbed him a “mentally deranged U.S. dotard.”

On Saturday, the mudslinging continued with Ri calling Trump “a mentally deranged person full of megalomania and complacency” who is trying to turn the United Nations into a “gangsters’ nest”. Ri said Trump himself was on a “suicide mission” after the U.S. president had said Kim was on such a mission.

“‘President Evil’ is holding the seat of the U.S.

President,” Ri said, warning that Pyongyang was ready to defend itself if the United States showed any sign of conducting a “decapitating operation on our headquarters or military attack against our country”.

“Now we are finally only a few steps away from the final gate of completion of the state nuclear force,” Ri told the annual gathering of world leaders.

He said sanctions would have no effect on Pyongyang’s resolve to develop its nuclear weapons, with the ultimate goal being “balance of power with the U.S.”

Trump announced new U.S. sanctions on Thursday that he said allow targeting of companies and institutions that finance and facilitate trade with North Korea.

Earlier this month the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted its ninth round of sanctions on Pyongyang to counter its nuclear and ballistic missiles programs.

The U.S. bombers’ flight was the farthest north of the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea that any U.S. fighter jet or bomber has flown in the 21st century, the Pentagon said.

“This mission is a demonstration of U.S. resolve and a clear message that the President has many military options to defeat any threat,” said Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White.

“We are prepared to use the full range of military capabilities to defend the U.S. homeland and our allies.”

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho addresses the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 23, 2017. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

North Korea has launched dozens of missiles this year, several flying over Japan, as it accelerates its program aimed at enabling it to target the United States with a nuclear-tipped missile.

Pyongyang conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test on Sept. 3 and has threatened to test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific.

Ri met with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres after delivering his speech. Guterres expressed concern to Ri over the escalating tensions and appealed for de-escalation, the United Nations said in a statement.

The Pentagon said the B-1B bombers came from Guam and their U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagle fighter escorts came from Okinawa, Japan. Previous shows of force with bombers have stayed south of the demilitarized zone.

The patrols came after officials and experts said a small earthquake near North Korea’s nuclear test site on Saturday was probably not man-made, easing fears Pyongyang had exploded another nuclear bomb just weeks after its last one.

China’s Earthquake Administration said the quake was not a nuclear explosion and had the characteristics of a natural tremor.

The CTBTO, or Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty Organization, which monitors nuclear tests, and officials of the South Korean meteorological agency also said they believed it was a natural quake.

The earthquake, which South Korea’s Meteorological Agency put at magnitude 3.0, was detected 49 km from Kilju in North Hamgyong Province, where North Korea’s known Punggye-ri nuclear site is located, the official said.

All North Korea’s nuclear tests registered as earthquakes of magnitude 4.3 or above. The last registered as a magnitude 6.3.

Tensions have continued to rise around the Korean Peninsula since Pyongyang carried out its sixth test, prompting a new round of U.N. sanctions.

Trump told the United Nations on Tuesday the United States would “totally destroy” North Korea if it threatened the United States or its allies.

North Korea’s nuclear tests to date have all been underground, and experts say an atmospheric test, which would be the first since one by China in 1980, would be proof of the success of its weapons program.

The United States and South Korea are technically still at war with North Korea because the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce and not a peace treaty.

Slideshow (4 Images)

The North accuses the United States, which has 28,500 troops in South Korea, of planning to invade and regularly threatens to destroy it and its Asian allies.

(For graphic on Nuclear North Korea, click tmsnrt.rs/2lE5yjF)

(For graphic on a tally of nuclear tests, click tmsnrt.rs/2xWf6jA)</s>North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho is addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York Saturday, after a week of fiery barbs traded between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has stoked tensions over North Korea’s nuclear program.

Moments before Ri was set to speak, U.S. Air Force bombers flew in international airspace east of North Korea. The Pentagon said it’s the furthest north any U.S. fighters have flown in the 21st Century.

The speech comes after Ri threatened to test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific, and Mr. Trump issued an executive order targeting countries that trade with North Korea. At a Friday night rally for Republican U.S. Senate contender Luther Strange in Alabama, Mr. Trump derided “little rocket man” — his new favorite term for Kim — and emphasized that North Korea would be dealt with. Earlier in the day, the president tweeted that he Kim is a “madman” who will be “tested like never before.” In Mr. Trump’s speech to the U.N. this week, the president said he would “totally destroy” North Korea if the U.S. is “forced to defend itself” or any allies.

Kim, in a rare statement earlier this week, called the president “mentally deranged” and a “dotard,” pledging to strike as needed.

“Whatever Trump might have expected, he will face results beyond his expectation,” Kim said in the statement. “I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged U.S. dotard with fire.”

Follow below for live updates from the North Korean foreign minister’s speech.

2:46 p.m. Ri ends his speech, to applause from the North Korean delegation

The handful of members of the North Korea delegation offered their applause as Ri walked off stage, uneventfully.

2:44 p.m.: It’s foolish to think “barbaric” sanctions will deter North Korea, Ri says

Although the U.N. and U.S. have imposed tougher sanctions on North Korea and its trading partners, Ri said that won’t matter. North Korea is close to completing its nuclear weapons program, he said.

2:41 p.m.: Ri says North Korea doesn’t intend to threaten countries that don’t join U.S.

Ri said countries that don’t join the U.S. in its nuclear attempts have no reason to worry.

Ri said North Korea isn’t eager to use its nuclear weapons capabilities, comparing the current situation to the “weapons of mass destruction” claims former President George W. Bush made to justify engaging in the Middle East.

2:34 p.m.: Ri says U.S. should “think twice” before threatening DPRK

Ri said “hopefully” nuclear power won’t be necessary, and that’s not their “first option.” But Ri said U.S. and its allies should “think twice” before threatening North Korea.

2:33 p.m.: Ri says DPRK has entered a phase of completing its nuclear force

Ri says North Korea has nearly completed its nuclear weapons goals, including a hydrogen bomb. Ri said the weapons are intended to be a “war deterrent”

2:31 p.m.: Ri says the U.S. is the real threat

“The very reason the DPRK had to possess nuclear weapons is because of the U.S.,” Ri said.

2:27 p.m.: Ri: “None other than Trump is on a suicide mission”

Ri said Trump will pay “dearly” for his speech.

“Trump might not be aware what is uttered from his mouth,” Ri said, adding North Korea will be “sure” he pays.

2:25 p.m.: Ri says Trump “tainted” U.N. with his comments

Ri said he feels compelled to respond to comments from Mr. Trump, saying he poses a threat to international security.

“Due to his lacking of basic common knowledge and proper sentiment, he tried to insult the supreme dignity of my country by referring it to a rocket,” Ri said.

Ri said Trump is, “mentally deranged and full of megalomania.”</s>On Saturday, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho addressed the general debate of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

His speech came days after U.S. President Donald J. Trump used the same platform to threaten to “totally destroy” North Korea should the United States need to defend itself or its allies.

Ri’s address also comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un released an unusual statement through North Korea’s state-run media, addressing Trump’s remarks in the first-person and threatening to “tame” the U.S. leader.

The foreign minister’s address was a rebuttal of sorts to Trump’s address, defending North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

Ri told world leaders that his country was “only a few steps away from the final gate of completion of the state’s nuclear force.”

Rebuking recent sanctions resolutions at the United Nations Security Council, he added that there was no “chance that North Korea would be shaken an inch or change its stance due to the harsher sanctions by the hostile forces.”

Turning to Trump, Ri used the U.S. president’s own words to criticize him. Where Trump had said Kim Jong-un was on a “suicide mission,” Ri instead alleged that it was Trump who was on a “suicide mission.”

“Due to his lacking of basic common knowledge and proper sentiment, he tried to insult the supreme dignity of my country by referring it to a rocket,” Ri said. “By doing so however, he committed an irreversible mistake of making our rocket’s visit to the entire U.S. mainland inevitable all the more,” he added.

“Trump might not have been aware what is uttered from his mouth, but we will make sure that he bears consequences far beyond his words, far beyond the scope of what he can handle even if he is ready to do so,” Ri added.

“The U.S. claims that the DPRK’s possession of H-bomb and ICBM constitutes a global threat, even at the U.N. arena,” Ri continued.

“But such claim is (sic) a big lie which is just tantamount to the notorious big lie faked up by the U.S. in 2003 about the existence of weapons in Iraq of weapons of mass destruction in order to invade that country.”

Ri additionally defended North Korea’s nuclear status by claiming it was a “responsible” nuclear state and that it did not seek the approval or recognition of its nuclear status by any country.

Following his address, Ri met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who expressed concern “over the tensions on the Korean Peninsula and appealed for de-escalation and full implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions,” according to a UN statement.</s>Over the past few days, one man has emerged as the international face of the North Korean regime: Ri Yong-ho.

As the brickbats continued to fly between Washington and Pyongyang at the weekend, the North Korean foreign minister threatened to upstage his country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, with a mixture of trademark rhetoric and humour at the UN general assembly in New York.

Ri took to the podium to deliver a fiery speech on behalf of Kim, who has not set out foot outside of North Korea since he became leader in late 2011.

In a rebuke to Donald Trump’s threat to “totally destroy” North Korea if it attacked the US or its allies, he told the hall that it was now “all the more inevitable” that the regime’s rockets would “visit” the US mainland. Borrowing the US president’s own words, Ri added that it was the Trump, not Kim, who was on a suicide mission.

In a brief encounter with journalists on his arrival in New York last week, Ri ridiculed Trump and showed flashes of humour.

He likened Trump’s threat to destroy North Korea to the “sound of a dog barking”, and when asked for his opinion of the president’s “rocket man” nickname for Kim, simply replied: “I feel sorry for his aides.” On Saturday, he referred to Trump as “President Evil”.

It was the second time in several days that Ri – not to be confused with a former senior army official of the same name who was reportedly purged in 2012 – had generated headlines around the world.

Although he has been foreign minister for little over a year, his role is quickly coming to resemble that of Saddam Hussein’s mouthpiece during both Gulf wars, Tariq Aziz.

Like Aziz, Ri is highly visible – at least by North Korean standards – and is trusted to do his leader’s bidding on an almost entirely hostile diplomatic stage.

Ri’s assured demeanour in New York can be attributed to a career spent at the heart of the North Korean political elite and almost two decades of dealing with the US, the UN and South Korea.

Despite his penchant for the kind of bellicose language usually associated with North Korea’s propaganda machine, Ri cut his cloth as a diplomat rather than as a provocateur.

He was involved in North Korea’s ill-fated negotiations with the US over its nuclear weapons programme in the mid-1990s. Later, he was chief negotiator for North Korea during six-party denuclearisation talks that have been stalled for almost a decade.

It is hard to imagine any North Korean government official better placed to steer his country through the current crisis, particularly given his close ties to Kim.

Ri, who is thought to be in his early 60s, has held several senior diplomatic posts, including as ambassador to Britain from 2003-07, and has travelled on missions to the US and Asia, according to North Korea Leadership Watch.

As recently as last month, he met foreign ministers of South Korea, Russia and China – but not Japan or the US – on the sidelines of the Asean Regional Forum in Manila.

Ri was destined to play a key role in the dynastic regime that has ruled North Korea for almost 70 years.

He is the the son of Ri Myong-je, a former editor of the state KCNA news agency who also served as deputy chief of staff to Kim Jong-il. He attended the elite Namsan senior middle school and studied English at Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies.

In 2000, Ri accompanied Jo Myong-rok, who was then first vice-chairman of North Korea’s National Defence Commission, on a trip to the US, where he met Bill Clinton and the US secretary of state, Madeleine Albright.

Having personally contributed to raising diplomatic tensions over the past week, could Ri also be the person to help defuse the crisis?

Writing in the Atlantic last week, Joel S Wit, a senior fellow at the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, suggested that a meeting between Ri and the US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, could break the “counterproductive cycle of escalation” between Washington and Pyongyang.

“Ri is not a typical communist bureaucrat,” Wit wrote. “He has impressive diplomatic skills. Smart, thoughtful, and articulate, he is a careful listener who often asks perceptive questions and chooses his responses with care. He can be both reasonable in trying to understand the other country’s point of view and tough in defending North Korea’s interests. Moreover, he is clearly ‘connected’.”</s>NEW YORK (CBSNews) — North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said President Trump is the only person “on a suicide mission,” one that is making “our rocket’s visit to the entire U.S. mainland inevitable all the more.”

In a fiery speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York Saturday (Sept. 23), Ri responded to a string of threats from Mr. Trump throughout the week — particularly Mr. Trump’s threat to “totally destroy” North Korea if the U.S. is “forced to defend itself or its allies.” Mr. Trump has said “rocket man” Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, is on a “suicide mission,” but Ri said “none other than Trump himself is on a suicide mission.”

“Due to his lacking of basic common knowledge and proper sentiment, he tried to insult the supreme dignity of my country by referring it to a rocket,” Ri said. “By doing so however, he committed an irreversible mistake of making our rocket’s visit to the entire U.S. mainland inevitable all the more.”

Ri also called the president a “mentally deranged person full of megalomania,” reflecting comments from Kim earlier this week, when Kim called Mr. Trump a “mentally deranged U.S. dotard.”

The North Korean diplomat claimed the North Korean regime possesses a hydrogen bomb that can be coupled with an intercontinental ballistic missile, and is prepared to use its latest technology if needed. Ri on Friday threatened to test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean.

“Trump might not have been aware what is uttered from his mouth, but we will make sure that he bears consequences far beyond his words, far beyond the scope of what he can handle even if he is ready to do so,” Ri said.

Ri insisted it is the U.S., not North Korea, that poses an international threat.

“The U.S. claims that the DPRK’s possession of H-bomb and ICBM constitutes a global threat, even at the U.N. arena,” Ri said, using the acronym for the country. “But such claim is a big lie which is just tantamount to the notorious big lie faked up by the U.S. in 2003 about the existence of weapons in Iraq of weapons of mass destruction in order to invade that country.”

Ri tried to argue that nuclear muscle power isn’t the DPRK’s first option. North Korea, he said, also only intends to target countries that join forces with the U.S.

“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is a responsible nuclear weapons state,” Ri said. “We will take preventative measures by merciless preemptive action unless the U.S. and its vessel forces show any sign of operating a decapitating operation on our headquarters or military attack against our country. However, we do not have any intention at all to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against the countries that do not join in the U.S.military actions against the DPRK.”

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres met with Ri after his speech, and expressed concern over tensions in the North Korean Peninsula, CBS News’ Pamela Falk reports, citing a readout of their conversation. Guterres asked for deescalation, and for the DPRK to implement all of the U.N. Security Council’s resolutions. Guterres emphasized the need for a political solution, and for continued humanitarian aid to North Korea.

Moments before Ri was set to speak, U.S. Air Force bombers flew in international airspace east of North Korea. The Pentagon said it’s the furthest north any U.S. fighters have flown in the 21st Century.

Mr. Trump has only escalated his comments about North Korea this week.

On Friday, Mr. Trump issued an executive order targeting countries that trade with North Korea. At a Friday night rally for Republican U.S. Senate contender Luther Strange in Alabama, Mr. Trump derided “little rocket man” — his new favorite term for Kim — and emphasized that North Korea would be dealt with. Earlier in the day, the president tweeted that he Kim is a “madman” who will be “tested like never before.”</s>(CBSNEWS) – North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said President Trump is the only person “on a suicide mission,” one that is making “our rocket’s visit to the entire U.S. mainland inevitable all the more.”

In a fiery speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York Saturday, Ri responded to a string of threats from Mr. Trump throughout the week — particularly Mr. Trump’s threat to “totally destroy” North Korea if the U.S. is “forced to defend itself or its allies.” Mr. Trump has said “rocket man” Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, is on a “suicide mission,” but Ri said “none other than Trump himself is on a suicide mission.”

“Due to his lacking of basic common knowledge and proper sentiment, he tried to insult the supreme dignity of my country by referring it to a rocket,” Ri said. “By doing so however, he committed an irreversible mistake of making our rocket’s visit to the entire U.S. mainland inevitable all the more.”

Ri also called the president a “mentally deranged person full of megalomania,” reflecting comments from Kim earlier this week, when Kim called Mr. Trump a “mentally deranged U.S. dotard.”

The North Korean diplomat claimed the North Korean regime possesses a hydrogen bomb that can be coupled with an intercontinental ballistic missile, and is prepared to use its latest technology if needed. Ri on Friday threatened to test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean.

“Trump might not have been aware what is uttered from his mouth, but we will make sure that he bears consequences far beyond his words, far beyond the scope of what he can handle even if he is ready to do so,” Ri said.

Ri insisted it is the U.S., not North Korea, that poses an international threat.</s>North Korea says Donald Trump’s labelling of Kim Jong-Un as “Rocket Man” has made “our rockets’ visit to the entire U.S. mainland inevitable”.

Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho told the United Nations that Mr Trump had committed an irreversible mistake during his speech to the body in New York last week.

His comments came today after it emerged the US had sent bombers to the North Korean border today in the closest they have been this century.

Foreign Minister Ri said if US lives were lost, Mr Trump would be held totally responsible.

“Through such a prolonged and arduous struggle, now we are finally only a few steps away from the final gate of completion of the state nuclear force,” Ri told the annual gathering of world leaders for the United Nations General Assembly.

“It is only a forlorn hope to consider any chance that the DPRK (North Korea) would be shaken an inch or change its stance due to the harsher sanctions by the hostile forces.”

He said North Korean did not have any intention to use or threaten its nuclear weapons against countries that did not join US military action.

He added that Mr Trump’s speech at the UN was reckless and violent and he was trying to the turn the body into “a gangster’s nest where money is respected and bloodshed is the order of the day”.</s>North Korea's foreign minister warned Saturday that a strike against the U.S. mainland is "inevitable" because President Donald Trump mocked leader Kim Jong Un with the belittling nickname "little rocket man."

U.S. bombers escorted by fighter jets flew off the North Korean coast in a show of force shortly before Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho strode to the podium to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York, capping an extraordinary week of militaristic threats from both nations before an organization founded to maintain international peace and security.

Ri said that Trump's bombast had made "our rockets' visit to the entire U.S. mainland inevitable," and linked it to the Trump's insulting shorthand references to Kim.

Harsh sanctions placed on North Korea's trade with the outside world will have no impact on its ability to complete building a nuclear bomb capable of reaching the United States, Ri said, suggesting that stage is imminent.

"Through such a prolonged and arduous struggle, now we are finally only a few steps away from the final gate of completion of the state nuclear force," he said.

"It is only a forlorn hope to consider any chance that the DPRK would be shaken an inch or change its stance due to the harsher sanctions by the hostile forces," he said, using the acronyms for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The rhetoric between Trump and Kim has grown exceptionally personal. At a rally Friday night in Alabama, Trump called Kim "little rocket man," magnifying the disparaging label he slung at King in his U.N. speech Tuesday in which he threatened the United States would "totally destroy" North Korea in defence of itself or its allies. He said Kim was on "suicide mission"

Kim in turn called Trump a "frightened dog" and a "mentally deranged U.S. dotard." Ri echoed those sentiments on Saturday, calling the president a "mentally deranged person full of megalomania" and at one point referring to him "President Evil."

"None other than Trump himself is on a suicide mission," Ri said in broad denunciation of Trump that brought applause from the North Korean delegation. "In case innocent lives of the U.S. are harmed because of this suicide attack, Trump will be held totally responsible."

Ri emphasized that North Korea has the know-how to carry out its threat. He said Pyongyang has a hydrogen bomb that that can fit on an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. On Friday, Ri said Korea was prepared to test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean.</s>North Korea´s Foreign Minister has said that Donald Trump's threatening rhetoric has made military strikes against the US 'inevitable.'

Addressing the United Nations on Saturday (23 September) in a strongly worded speech Ri Yong Ho said the US President 'irreversible mistake' when he mocked Kim Jong-un, calling him mad and dubbing him the 'rocket man.'

Describing the US President as "a mentally deranged person full of megalomania and complacency" Ri Yong Ho said that Trump's insulting remarks had made 'our rockets' visit to the entire U.S. mainland inevitable'.

"Due to his lacking of basic common knowledge and proper sentiment, he tried to insult the supreme dignity of my country by referring (to it as) a 'rocket,' " Ri Yong Ho explained.

"By doing so, however, he committed an irreversible mistake of making our rockets' visit to the entire U.S. mainland inevitable all the more. Through such a prolonged and arduous struggle, now we are finally only a few steps away from the final gate of completion of the state nuclear force."

Sky News reports that Ri Yong Ho further warned that North Korea would retaliate with equal force.

"Unless true international justice is realized, the only valid philosophical principal is that force must be dealt with force," he warned.

His comments came as a fleet of U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers flew into the demilitarised zone between the Koreas in a display of force designed to demonstrate "the military options available to President Trump.

The two leaders have been trading barbs amid tensions over North Korea's nuclear programme after Kim described Trump as "a mentally deranged US dotard."

The President responded saying the North Korean dictator was on a suicide mission.

"Kim Jong Un of North Korea, who is obviously a madman who doesn't mind starving or killing his people, will be tested like never before!" he tweeted.

Ri Yong Ho condemned the US president's remarks and warned there would be serious consequences for Trump's aggressive rhetoric: "None other than Trump himself is on a suicide mission," he said, adding that the US President may not realize what he "uttered from his mouth, but we will make sure that he bears consequences far beyond his words."

He added: "In case innocent lives of the US are harmed ... Trump will be totally responsible."

Russia and China have attempted to mediate between the two leaders urging the US to 'exercise restraint'. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rebuked them saying their war of words was akin to 'a kindergarten fight between children" adding that the nuclear-missile gambles" being played by Pyongyang and US are heightening tensions in the Korean peninsula.

Fearing that North Korea might now carry out its threat to detonate a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said: "'The situation on the Korean Peninsula now is grave."
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho, at the United Nations General Assembly, says his country targeting the U.S. mainland is becoming more likely given the U.S. President's escalating rhetoric over their military programs. After this speech, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres met with Ri to express his concern with this situation.