U.S. President Donald Trump offered some backhanded praise for North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, calling him "a pretty smart cookie" in an interview CBS's "Face the Nation" that aired Sunday.
Trump told the network he had "no idea" whether Kim was sane or not, but said the North Korean leader had faced a formidable challenge in taking over the country at a reported age of 27.
"He's dealing with obviously very tough people, in particular the generals and others. And at a very young age, he was able to assume power," Trump was quoted by AFP as having said in the interview.
"A lot of people, I'm sure, tried to take that power away, whether it was his uncle or anybody else. And he was able to do it. So obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie," he added.
"But we have a situation that we just cannot let -- we cannot let what's been going on for a long period of years continue," stressed Trump.
The interview comes following North Korea's latest missile test, which appeared to have failed.
On April 16, North Korea attempted to launch a missile - but it blew up in the sea. Experts claim they may also have publicly displayed an ICBM during a parade marking the 105th birthday of North Korea's founder.
Trump refused comment on Sunday on whether the United States had anything to do with the latest test failure.
"It is a chess game. I just don't want people to know what my thinking is. So eventually, he will have a better delivery system. And if that happens, we can't allow it to happen," he said.
In the same interview, Trump would not rule out the use of military force against North Korea, answering, "I don't know. I mean, we'll see” when asked about such a move.