Russia calls Trump’s Korea remarks a dangerous step toward instability

MOSCOW — President Trump’s vow that the United States may have to “totally destroy” North Korea if it feels threatened sent expressions of shock across the world Tuesday.

Trump’s statements at the United Nations General Assembly came in the middle of the night for Koreans, but they prompted late-evening rebuttals from leaders here in Russia, a country with which Trump had hoped to foster a breakthrough in relations.

This month alone, North Korea has tested a hydrogen bomb and launched an intercontinental ballistic capable of striking the United States on a test run over the Japanese island of Hokkaido. The U.N. Security Council responded with toughened sanctions earlier this month.