9 Outrageous Kim Jong Un Quotes, Before He Decided to Try Diplomacy

kim jong un mike pompeo north korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shakes hands with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Pyongyang, North Korea on May 9, 2018. North Korea's Korean Central News Agency/Reuters

2018-06-11T15:55:00Z

Between testing ballistic missiles and eating extravagant amounts of cheese, North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un has made plenty of pretty outrageous statements about the United States and life in the Hermit Kingdom.

His taunts and tit-for-tat exchanges with President Donald Trump in particular have at times shifted the needle from crazy to dangerous, with the two leaders engaging in a heated back-and-forth over the possibility of nuclear war.

But the two leaders will be meeting for a historic diplomatic summit in Singapore this week after changing their language from threatening war to possible peace.

Here are nine of the most bewildering things Kim Jong Un has said since he assumed power after his father passed away in 2011:

On Trump's speech at the UN calling him "Rocket Man":

Source: The Guardian

On North Korea's missile range, a topic that Trump and Kim will likely discuss on Tuesday:

Source: Business Insider

On North Korea's nuclear power:

Source: The New York Times

On pre-emptive nuclear strikes:

Source: The New York Times

On massacres that anti-Communist militias likely committed during the Korean War:

Source: The New York Times

On rocket launches buoying North Koreans' spirits:

Source: The New York Times

On turning a South Korean island into a "sea of fire":

Source: Business Insider

On the Fourth of July:

Source: The Guardian, BBC

Trump and Kim will be sitting down for a dialogue on Tuesday, but this is what the North Korean leader once said of Trump's capacity for rational thinking:

Source: BBC

9 of the most outrageous things Kim Jong Un has said, before his about-face attempt at diplomacy

On Trump's speech at the UN calling him "Rocket Man":

On North Korea's missile range, a topic that Trump and Kim will likely discuss on Tuesday:

On North Korea's nuclear power:

On pre-emptive nuclear strikes:

On massacres that anti-Communist militias likely committed during the Korean War:

On rocket launches buoying North Koreans' spirits:

On turning a South Korean island into a "sea of fire":

On the Fourth of July:

Trump and Kim will be sitting down for a dialogue on Tuesday, but this is what the North Korean leader once said of Trump's capacity for rational thinking:

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9 of the most outrageous things Kim Jong Un has said, before his about-face attempt at diplomacy

On Trump's speech at the UN calling him "Rocket Man":

On North Korea's missile range, a topic that Trump and Kim will likely discuss on Tuesday:

On North Korea's nuclear power:

On pre-emptive nuclear strikes:

On massacres that anti-Communist militias likely committed during the Korean War:

On rocket launches buoying North Koreans' spirits:

On turning a South Korean island into a "sea of fire":

On the Fourth of July:

Trump and Kim will be sitting down for a dialogue on Tuesday, but this is what the North Korean leader once said of Trump's capacity for rational thinking:

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