Trump: Sanctions beginning to have ‘big impact’ on North Korea

President Trump said Tuesday that sanctions placed on North Korea are starting “to have a big impact,” again invoking his “rocket man” moniker for the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un.

“Sanctions and ‘other’ pressures are beginning to have a big impact on North Korea,” Trump tweeted.

“Soldiers are dangerously fleeing to South Korea. Rocket man now wants to talk to South Korea for first time. Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not — we will see!” he added.

{mosads}The tweet from the president appears to reference potential talks next week between North Korea and South Korea. Seoul suggested the talks Tuesday after Kim delivered a New Year’s speech in which he said he is “open to dialogue,” according to Reuters. 

The United Nations Security Council, just before the Christmas holiday, voted unanimously to impose new sanctions on Pyongyang after an intercontinental ballistic missile test. North Korea called the sanctions “an act of war.” The council also voted unanimously in September to sanction the country following a nuclear test.

And the Treasury Department in November targeted North Korea in economic sanctions aimed at pressuring the country over its nuclear program.

North Korea in November launched an intercontinental ballistic missile that Defense Secretary James Mattis said “went higher, frankly, than any previous shot they’ve taken.” 

Trump has warned North Korea against inciting the United States, vowing to destroy the nation should it provoke the U.S. Trump also said in a fiery speech to the U.N. General Assembly last year that Kim is “on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime.”