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CIA thinks Trump is crazy to label Kim Jong Un a madman

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is a “rational actor” who does not want to wage war against the U.S., a CIA official said Wednesday.

The assessment by Yong Suk Lee, the deputy assistant director of the CIA’s Korea Mission Center, is at odds with the public rhetoric of President Donald Trump, who has dismissed the North Korean leader as “obviously a madman.”

Trump also claimed Kim was “on a suicide mission” during a September speech at the United Nations.

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“Beyond the bluster, Kim Jong Un is a rational actor,” said Lee at a CIA conference at George Washington University.

“Waking up and deciding to nuke Los Angeles is not in his interest to survive,” he added. “He wants to rule for a long time and die peacefully in his own bed.”

Lee’s comments echo those of Dan Coats, Trump’s director of national intelligence, who in July said Kim has “some rationale backing his actions.”

The White House has been accused of sending mixed messages to Pyongyang in recent weeks. After the State Department opened diplomatic channels to North Korea, Trump told Secretary of State Rex Tillerson he was “wasting his time.”

At a meeting of military leaders in Washington Thursday, Trump continued with his bellicose rhetoric, saying the U.S. “will do what we must do” in relation to the regime.

Since taking over from his father in 2011, Kim has proved himself a ruthless political operator, executing at least 340 people since he came to power — including his own uncle.

By developing nuclear weapons, the North Korean leader is likely looking for leverage in future negotiations, and he will be hoping to avoid the fate of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was overthrown by U.S. forces after he gave up his nuclear arsenal.