President Donald Trump said Monday he is not "personally" bothered by recent short-range missile tests that North Korea conducted this month, breaking with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is hosting the president on four-day state visit full of pageantry.
Standing beside Trump at a news conference after hours of talks, Abe disagreed with the US president, saying the missile tests violated UN Security Council resolutions and were "of great regret."
When asked if he was bothered by the missile tests, Trump said: "No, I'm not. I am personally not."
Trump praised Kim, calling him a "smart man" who might have launched the missiles earlier this month to "get attention."
"All I know is there have been no nuclear tests, no ballistic missiles going out, no long-range missiles going out and I think that someday we'll have a deal," Trump said, adding that he is in "no rush."
"This is violating the Security Council resolution," Abe said, adding that, as North Korea's neighbor, Japan feels threatened. "It is of great regret. But at the same time between Kim Jong Un and President Trump a certain new approach was taken and that is something that I pay tribute to."
Trump didn't hold back at the news conference when he was asked about Biden, declaring himself "not a fan." "Kim Jong Un made a statement that Joe Biden is a low-I.Q. individual," Trump said, adding that Kim probably based his assessment on Biden's record and "I probably agree with him on that."
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