North Korea's state-run media say US President Donald Trump's tweet about having a bigger nuclear button than leader Kim Jong Un's is the "spasm of a lunatic."
Rodong Sinmun, the ruling party newspaper, lashed out at Trump in a commentary on Tuesday that took issue with the US commander in chief's January 3 tweet that "I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!"
A summary of the commentary by North Korea's official news agency described the tweet as "the spasm of a lunatic."
"The spasm of Trump in the new year reflects the desperate mental state of a loser who failed to check the vigorous advance of the army and people of the DPRK," the Rodong Sinmun commentary said, using the acronym for North Korea's formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "He is making (a) bluff only to be diagnosed as a psychopath."
That tone is not uncommon for the North Korean media.
But Trump's willingness to respond in kind - he has repeatedly called Kim "little rocket man" - is rare for an American leader and has led to several fiery verbal barrages since he took office nearly a year ago.
Trump has more recently suggested he might be willing to meet with Kim, and reportedly told the Wall Street Journal the two "probably have a very good relationship."
