President Donald Trump on Sunday praised his own restraint for not calling North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “short and fat,” but claimed he tries “so hard” to be Kim’s friend.

“Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me ‘old,’ when I would NEVER call him ‘short and fat?'” Trump tweeted. “Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend – and maybe someday that will happen!”

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) November 12, 2017

Trump posted the tweet while on a 12-day trip to Asia, a sudden digital outburst amid formal appearances.

Asked whether she thinks “name calling is helpful,” senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway on Sunday claimed Trump was responding to an insult from Kim.

“I think that that was the President just responding the way he does to somebody who insulted him first,” she said on ABC News’ “This Week.”

Conway on Trump's tweet on Kim Jong Un: That "was the president just responding the way he does to somebody who insulted him first." pic.twitter.com/8xsEMStIYL — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) November 12, 2017

Trump’s and Kim’s war of words is not new; Trump in September called Kim a “Rocket Man” on a “suicide mission” in a speech at the United Nations.

Kim responded by calling Trump a “mentally deranged U.S. dotard,” another jab at his age: Trump is 71 years old.