Trump: Obama was ready for war with North Korea

U.S. President Donald Trump and his predecessor Barack Obama / AP

By Jung Min-ho

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his predecessor Barack Obama was ready to start a war with North Korea, telling reporters that, if it weren't for him, millions of people would have been killed.

"If I wasn't elected, you would be in a war," Trump was quoted as saying in New York by local media.

"President Obama essentially said the same thing. He was ready to go to war. You would have had a war and you would have lost millions, not thousands."

The comment came as Trump talked about his administration's efforts to denuclearize North Korea. He said he deserves more credit for lowering the risk of the regime's nuclear threat.

"You know how close he (Obama) was to pressing the trigger for war? Millions of people. With me, nobody is talking about that … We have a very good relationship," Trump said.

Since their first summit in Singapore in June, Washington and Pyongyang have been engaged in denuclearization talks. On the same day, the U.S. State Department said that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Pyongyang again next month at North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's invitation.