Despite the fact that Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un seemed to have bonded during the Singapore summit, the US president credited his past fiery rhetoric against the North Korean leader for making the landmark meeting come true.

Speaking immediately after the historic summit with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Donald Trump revealed that Kim Jong-un has a “very good personality, he’s funny, and he’s very, very smart” and the two “got along very well” from the very onset of the meeting.

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A sudden change of heart seems to be at odds with his previous comments, when the president repeatedly referred to the North Korean leader as “Little Rocket Man” on a “suicide mission” and threatened to unleash “fire and fury” if Pyongyang proceeded with its nuclear provocations. Kim, in turn, responded to the insults, calling Trump a “dotard,” exhibiting “mentally deranged behavior.”

The president shared with Hannity that his hardline stance on North Korea paved the way for the historic summit, but admitted that sometimes it didn’t come easy.

“I think without the rhetoric, we wouldn’t have been here. I really believe that. So, I think the rhetoric, I hated to do it. Sometimes I felt foolish doing it. But we had no choice,” Trump confessed.

And it appears that the president never lost hope of becoming Kim’s friend – at least judging by his tweet:

Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me "old," when I would NEVER call him "short and fat?" Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend — and maybe someday that will happen! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 12 ноября 2017 г.

On June 12, President Trump and his North Korean counterpart held a summit in Singapore, agreeing on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in exchange for security guarantees from Washington. The US president called Kim Jong-un a “very talented man,” who “loves his country very much,” adding that he would “absolutely” invite him to the White House.

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According to North Korean state news agency KCNA, the two heads of state have already accepted each other’s invitations to visit one other in Washington and Pyongyang.