Tucker Carlson has appeared to downplay North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s human rights abuses, by saying that leading a country “means killing people”.

The controversial commentator was asked about Donald Trump’s close relationship with the dictator. He was also pressed on Kim Jong-un’s human rights abuses during the segment.

“There’s no defending the North Korean regime, it’s the last really Stalinist regime in the world,” Mr Carlson said during the phone interview on Fox News.

“It’s a disgusting place obviously, so there’s no defending it. On the other hand, you know you’ve got to be honest about what it means to lead a country; it means killing people.

“Not on the scale the North Koreans do,” Mr Carlson added “but a lot of countries commit atrocities, including a number that we’re closely allied with.”

“I’m not a relativist or anything but it’s important to be honest about that.”

The right-wing presenter accompanied Mr Trump to the demilitarised zone between the two Koreas on Sunday, for a meeting with Kim Jong-un.

He defended Donald Trump’s closeness with the dictator, despite the president’s behaviour drawing criticism from US politicians and commentators.

“It’s not necessarily a choice between the evil people and the brave people,” Mr Carlson said.

“It’s a choice, most of the time, between the bad people and the worse people.”

The presenter praised Mr Trump, who he said was “far less sentimental about this stuff and maybe I think..more realistic about it.

Mr Carlson described the international attitude towards Kim Jon Un as “a kind of dorm room [stance]: ‘oh they’re so mean!’”

The commentator dismissed such attitudes as “kind of silly and stupid and not helpful”.

“In the end what maters is what’s good for the United States and you deal with bad people a lot of the time in order to help your own country,” he said.

A South Korean rights group identified hundreds of sites earlier this month, which were allegedly used by North Korea for public executions and extra judicial killings.

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Kim Jong-un is believed to use death by firing squad to instil fear into North Korean citizens.

Donald Trump became the first sitting US president to enter North Korea on Saturday, stepping over the demilitarised zone to shake hands with Kim Jong-un.

Calling it a “great day for the world”, the 73-year-old said he would invite his counterpart to the White House, and also claimed Washington and Pyongyang would resume stalled nuclear talks within weeks.