Donald Trump and Nikki Haley
© AP Photo/ Seth WenigUS President Donald Trump speaks with US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley before a meeting during the UN General Assembly at UN headquarters
In separate interviews, high-ranking US officials have tried to uphold President Donald Trump's recent "bigger nuclear button" tweet, which they claimed underscored Washington's desire to prevent North Korea from unleashing a nuclear war.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has supported President Donald Trump's tweet about the size of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's nuclear button.

In an interview with ABC, she said that the White House is "not going to let them go and dramatize the fact that they have a button right on their desk and can destroy America."

She warned that the US can also destroy North Korea, which she said should be "very cautious and careful" with its actions.


"I think that [Trump] always has to keep Kim on his toes. It's very important that we don't ever let him get so arrogant that he doesn't realize the reality of what would happen if he started a nuclear war," Haley pointed out.

She was echoed by ClA Director Mike Pompeo, who argued that Trump's tweet is in sync with Washington's policy to denuclearize North Korea.


"This administration is prepared to do what it takes to assure that people in Los Angeles, in Denver, in New York are not held at risk from Kim Jong-un having a nuclear weapon. That tweet is entirely consistent with that policy," he told Fox News.


On Tuesday, the US President quipped at Kim Jong-un about the size of the nuclear arsenals of the US and North Korea, in what caused a storm of social media reactions.

"North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un just stated that the 'Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times. Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger and more powerful one than his, and my Button works!" Trump wrote on his Twitter page.


In late November, North Korea successfully tested its latest intercontinental ballistic missile, known as the Hwasong-15, which security experts said could have a range of more than 13,000 kilometers (8100 miles) and is capable of reaching any part of the mainland of the United States.


During his televised New Year's Day speech, Kim Jong-un expressed his readiness to improve ties with South Korea and said he was open to hold a dialogue, stressing the importance of lowering tensions on the Korean Peninsula.