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But those who worked in the previous administration say that Trump's assertion is simply false.
"President Obama thought you had to go to war, you know how close he was to trigger the trigger," Trump told the press conference, adding that "not thousands … millions would have been killed ". have been a world war. "
"If I were not elected, you would be in a war," Trump said, seeking to reinforce his assertion by hinting that Obama had "essentially" told him so directly.
This is not the first time that Trump has described Obama's relations with North Korea as a failure or hinted that the previous administration was about to start a war to try to find a diplomatic solution with Pyongyang.
In June, a week after his Singapore summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump suggested that the media would have named Obama a "national hero" if he "had" been "heard" with the regime. totalitarian.
"If President Obama (who had nowhere with North Korea and should have waged war on millions of people killed) had agreed with North Korea and had taken the first steps towards an agreement, the Fake News would have named it a national hero! "Trump tweeted at the time.
Obama came to power by swearing to speak directly to the enemies of America. Finally, he went to meet Cuban President Raul Castro and met by telephone with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
But he concluded that it would be a mistake to give in to the provocations of North Korea.
"It's the same type of model that his father knew and his grandfather before that," Obama said in 2013. "Since I took office, the only thing I was on was Clearly we were not going to reward this kind of provocative behavior – you do not have to bang your spoon on the table and you get your way. "
Obama warned Trump before taking office that North Korea's nuclear program would present him with his toughest foreign policy challenge.
In an interview with Fox News after the Singapore summit, Trump said Obama had told him directly that he "was essentially ready to wage war on North Korea."
"When I spoke to President Obama, he was basically ready to go to war with North Korea," Trump said of their meeting on November 10, 2016. "He felt that you almost had to go to war, and I asked [Obama]: Have you spoken to [Kim]? Do you think it would be a good idea to talk to him maybe? Said Trump.
On Wednesday, Trump again compared with the 44th president, saying that Obama was about to unleash a conflict that could escalate into world war – comments that prompted former national security officials to work in the previous administration.
"The Defense Department is still reviewing contingencies, but the Obama administration was still convinced – informed by the best thinking and analysis of our intelligence community, fighters and diplomats – that diplomacy was the only viable option given what we knew that the consequences of a conflict on the peninsula would be catastrophic, "said Ned Price, spokesman for the National Security Council in the White House, in a statement to CNN.
Price pointed out that Trump himself spoke of the massive losses that would result from a conflict with North Korea, a consequence that did not prevent Trump to warn Kim that the United States was ready to use military action "devastating" against Pyongyang.
But Trump's tone has changed dramatically since the two leaders met in Singapore earlier this summer and preparations are underway for a second summit between the two leaders, although there is no indication that North has taken concrete steps. declared goal of denuclearization.
Trump once again posted his relationship with Kim on Wednesday, referring to a new "extraordinary letter" from the North Korean dictator announcing that State Secretary Mike Pompeo would travel to Pyongyang to prepare another meeting between the two. leaders.
Critics pointed out that the Singapore declaration contained no firm commitment on the part of North Korea to dismantle its nuclear and missile programs, and that US officials have expressed frustration with North Korea's fraud.
Earlier this month, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley accused Russia of "cheating" and acting as a "virus" to help North Korea avoid international sanctions.
Despite signs that North Korea is avoiding sanctions, Pompeo and Trump have said the US push for maximum pressure on Pyongyang will continue and Turmp has repeatedly advanced.
"Missiles and rockets are no longer flying in all directions, nuclear tests have stopped," Trump told the General Assembly on Tuesday. "Some military installations are already being dismantled, our hostages have been released, and as promised, the remains of our fallen heroes have returned home to rest on American soil."
