Present Donald Trump called for North Korea to "dismantle" its nuclear program and referred to the rogue country as a "hell that no person deserves" during his speech to the South Korean National Assembly on Wednesday.
"North Korea is a country ruled by a cult," Trump said during his first major speech in Asia. "We have watched the results of a tragic experiment in a laboratory of history."
Before Trump addressed North Korea's leadership, which he referred to as a "twisted regime," he praised and congratulated South Korea for its accomplishments since the Korean War and touted the strength of the U.S. military and the U.S.-South Korea alliance.
Trump applauded South Korea, known officially as the Republic of Korea, for cultivating a culture that feeds the hungry and fights terrorism.
"What you have built is truly an inspiration," he said. "Your economic transformation was linked to a political one. The proud sovereign and independent people of your nation demanded the right to govern themselves."
Trump noted that the South Koreans have built an economy now more than 40 times larger than that of North Korea.
"What South Koreans have achieved on this peninsula is more than a victory for your nation. It is a victory for every nation that believes in the human spirit," Trump said.
Saying he wants "peace through strength," Trump touted America's robust military presence by the Korean peninsula.
"Currently stationed in the vicinity of this peninsula are the three largest aircraft carriers in the world, loaded to the maximum with magnificent F-35 and F-18 fighter jets," he said. "In addition, we have nuclear submarines appropriately positioned. The United States under my administration is completely rebuilding its military and is spending hundreds of billions of dollars to the newest and finest military equipment anywhere in the world being built right now."
Trump continued to praise South Korea throughout the speech, and also addressed "the prison state of North Korea"
"North Korea is not the paradise your grandfather envisioned. It is a hell that no person deserves," Trump said.
The president warned Pyongyang not to test the resolve of the United States.
"That would be a fatal miscalculation," Trump said of North Korean threats to strike the U.S. and its allies. "This a very different administration than the United States has had in the past. Do not underestimate us. And do not try us."
"Anyone who doubts the strength or determination of the United States should look to our past, and you will doubt it no longer. We will not permit America or our allies to be blackmailed or attacked," he added. "We will not be intimidated."
Trump directly addressed North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and had a direct message for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
"I also have come here to this peninsula to deliver a message directly to the leader of the North Korean dictatorship," Trump said. "The weapons you are acquiring are not making you safer. They are putting your regime in grave danger. Every step you take down this dark path increases the peril you face."
Calling for "all responsible nations" to join forces to isolate the North Korean leadership, Trump specifically called on China and Russia to fully implement United Nations Security Council resolutions that sanction Pyongyang.
"The North Korean regime has pursued its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in defiance of every assurance, agreement, and commitment it has made to the United States and its allies," he added.
Still, Trump expressed hope for a future of peace without "conflict or confrontation," working toward a "future of light, prosperity, and peace."
"But we are only prepared to discuss this brighter path for North Korea if its leaders cease their threats and dismantle their nuclear program," Trump said.
Trump also condemned the human rights situation in North Korea, which human rights groups consider among the worst in the world. Trump discussed malnutrition among the North Korean people, suppression of foreign media and other outside information, religious persecution, forced abortions, and the murder of newborns, among other human rights abuses by the government.
"North Korean women are forced to abort babies that are considered ethnically inferior. And if these babies are born, the newborns are murdered," Trump said. "One woman's baby born to a Chinese father was taken away in a bucket. The guard said it did not deserve to live because it was impure. So why would China feel an obligation to help North Korea?
"The destiny of the Korean people is not to suffer in the bondage of oppression, but to thrive in the glory of freedom," Trump added.
Trump continued his call for peace throughout his speech and praised the strength of America's alliance with South Korea.
"This alliance between our nations was forged in the crucible of war and strengthened by the trials of history," he said. "From the Inchon landings to Pork Chop Hill, American and South Korean soldiers have fought together, sacrificed together, and triumphed together."
"We are nations that respect our citizens, cherish our liberty, treasure our sovereignty, and control our own destiny," he added. "We affirm the dignity of every person and embrace the full potential of every soul."
Trump concluded his speech by looking to a future in which Koreans from both the North and South can live together in peace.
"Together, we dream of a Korea that is free, a peninsula that is safe, and families that are reunited once again," Trump said. "We dream of highways connecting North and South, of cousins embracing cousins, and this nuclear nightmare replaced with the beautiful promise of peace."
"Until that day comes, we stand strong and alert," he continued. "Our eyes are fixed to the North and our hearts praying for the day when all Koreans can live in freedom."