North Korea Calls Trump Statement A 'Declaration Of War'

North Korea's top diplomat said Monday that President Trump's tweet that leader Kim Jong Un "won't be around much longer" was a declaration of war against his country by the United States.

"This is clearly a declaration of war," Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho told reporters through a translator in New York. "... The U.N. Charter stipulates individual member states' rights to self-defense. Since the United States declared war on our country, we will have every right to make countermeasures, including the right to shoot down the United States' strategic bombers even when they're not yet inside the airspace border of our country."

Ri referred to Mr. Trump's tweet Saturday that said: "Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N. If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won't be around much longer!" Mr. Trump also used the derisive reference to Kim in his speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 19.

CBS News foreign affairs analyst Pamela Falk reports the North Korean issue has been the subject of several talks at the annual gathering. Mr. Trump met with the president of South Korea and the prime minister of Japan about North Korea last week.

"The real question is Russia and China," Falk said on CBSN. "Their foreign ministers at this U.N. General Assembly made clear what they want is more diplomatic effort."

Ri opened his brief remarks in Korean Monday by saying that over the last few days, the U.N. and the international community have clearly wished "that the war of words between the DPRK and the United States will not turn into real action."

DPRK refers to the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"However, that weekend, Trump claimed that our leadership wouldn't be around much longer, and ... he declared the war on our country," Ri said.

"Given the fact that this comes from someone who is currently holding the seat of (the) United States presidency, this is clearly a declaration of war," the foreign minister said.

He said all U.N. members and the world "should clearly remember that it was the U.S. who first declared war on our country."

Ri then said North Korea now has the right to retaliate against U.S. bombers.

And he ended his brief remarks by saying: "The question of who won't be around much longer will be answered then."

Mr. Trump's tweets have sparked or stoked several controversies during the first year of his presidency, including his recent criticism of NFL players who kneel during the national anthem as a form of protest.

Even some of the president's supporters aren't fans of how he uses Twitter, as one told "60 Minutes" special contributing correspondent Oprah Winfrey in a roundtable discussion broadcast Sunday night.

"I still don't like his attacks, his Twitter attacks, if you will, on other politicians," a man named Tom said. "I don't think that's appropriate. But, at the same time, his actions speak louder than words. And I love what he's doing to this country. Love it."

Earlier, North Korea was trying to convince other governments to condemn Mr. Trump for vowing to "totally destroy" the country in his speech to the U.N., CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy reports.

In a letter sent to foreign parliaments, North Korea called Mr. Trump's threat an "intolerable insult," North Korean state media reported, and Ri said Mr. Trump's words made North Korea's "rockets' visit to the U.S. mainland inevitable all the more."

It was not immediately clear which governments had been sent the letter, Tracy reports, but it was part of what appeared to be a new approach of trying to turn Mr. Trump's threats to destroy North Korea against him.

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