SEOUL (dpa-AFX) - While North Korea has been described as one of the world's most repressive countries, President Donald Trump has sought to defend the nation and its leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump argued in an interview with Fox News that aired Wednesday that a lot of other people and countries have done 'some really bad things.'
Fox News anchor Bret Baier noted Trump was asked repeatedly about human rights during his post-meeting press conference and pointed out that Kim has 'done some really bad things.'
'Yeah, but so have a lot of other people done some really bad things,' Trump said. 'I mean, I could go through a lot of nations where a lot of bad things were done.'
Trump's comments are reminiscent of remarks he made to Fox News host Bill O'Reilly about Russian President Vladimir Putin an interview last year.
When O'Reilly pointed out that Putin is a 'killer,' Trump replied, 'There are a lot of killers. You think our country's so innocent?'
During his interview aboard Air Force One on Tuesday, Trump also praised Kim's toughness for being able to take over control of North Korea from his father when he was 27 years old.
'He's a tough guy,' Trump said of Kim. 'When you take over a country, tough country, with tough people, and you take it over from your father, I don't care who you are, what you are, how much of an advantage you have.'
'If you can do that at 27 years old, I mean, that's one in 10,000 that could do that,' he added. 'So he's a very smart guy, he's a great negotiator. But I think we understand each other.'
Kim has been accused of executing members of his own family, and reports suggest North Korea is holding as many as 100,000 people in gulags and other detention sites.
(Photo: Gage Skidmore)
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