Donald Trump has described Kim Jong-un as a ‘pretty tough cookie’ (Picture; CBS)

Donald Trump has described Kim Jong-un as a ‘pretty smart cookie’ in an interview in which he also admitted he has no idea if the North Korean leader is sane.

The US President made the comments while reviewing his first 100 days as president in an interview with CBS in which he also warned he was ready to action against the secretive state.

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Asked about the failure of the recent missile tests, he said: ‘Perhaps they’re just not very good missiles. But eventually, he’ll have good missiles.’

Regarding Kim, he talked of the formidable challenge the leader faced after taking over the country at the age of 27 after his father’s death in 2011.




‘He’s dealing with obviously very tough people, in particular the generals and others. And at a very young age, he was able to assume power,’ Trump said in the interview with CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

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The president was speaking about his 100 days in office (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Kim Jong Un waves during a military parade in Pyongyang (Picture: AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

‘A lot of people, I’m sure, tried to take that power away, whether it was his uncle or anybody else. And he was able to do it.

‘So obviously, he’s a pretty smart cookie,’ he said.

He added: ‘But we have a situation that we just cannot let — we cannot let what’s been going on for a long period of years continue,’

The interview was aired after North Korea test fired another missile on Saturday.

Refusing to elaborate on US military options because ‘we shouldn’t be announcing all our moves’, Mr Trump added: ‘It is a chess game. I just don’t want people to know what my thinking is.’

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