Donald Trump vows to 'totally destroy' North Korea if it doesn't relent

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States will be forced to “totally destroy” North Korea unless Pyongyang backs down from its nuclear challenge, mocking North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a “rocket man” on a suicide mission.

Loud murmurs filled the green-marbled UN General Assembly hall when Trump issued his sternest warning yet to North Korea, whose ballistic missile launches and nuclear tests have rattled the globe.

Unless North Korea backs down, he said, “We will have no choice than to totally destroy North Korea.”

“Rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself and his regime,” he said.

North Korea’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s remarks. A junior North Korean diplomat remained in the delegation’s front-row seat for Trump’s speech, the North Korean UN mission said.

In his first appearance at the annual gathering of world leaders, the president used a 41-minute speech to take aim also at Iran’s nuclear ambitions and regional influence, Venezuela’s collapsing democracy and the threat of Islamist extremists.
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India welcomes UNGA move to create new counter-terrorism office

The UN General Assembly has approved the establishment of a new office to coordinate counter-terrorism efforts, a move welcomed by India as a "much awaited first step" that will align the world body with needs of the global community in the fight against the menace.

The 193-member General Assembly adopted a consensus resolution on Thursday creating the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism that will be headed by an Under-Secretary-General.

India welcomed the creation of the new UN counter- terrorism office, saying it demonstrates the importance member states place on a collective and coordinated action on terrorism, which remains the most complex threat faced by the international community.

"India believes that the creation of the Office of Counter-Terrorism Coordinator is a much awaited first step in our efforts to enhance coordination of the UN's counter- terrorism efforts," India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin said in the General Assembly after the resolution's adoption.

He said the office's creation "will align the UN with the changed global reality and needs of the international community" as was articulated by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Kabul, where he said support to terrorism entails a high price.

Addressing reporters in Kabul, Guterres had warned that any country that supports terrorism anywhere in the world in relation to other countries, "sooner or later the price paid will be high in relation to terrorism within the country itself".

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