Trump: 'Madman' Kim 'will be tested like never before'

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US President Donald Trump said DPRK leader Kim Jong Un would be "tested like never before" in a tweet on Friday, calling Kim a "madman."

Trump's attack came after the DPRK leader blasted him as a "mentally deranged US dotard" who will "pay dearly" for threatening to destroy the DPRK.

"Kim Jong Un of North Korea (the DPRK), who is obviously a madman who doesn't mind starving or killing his people, will be tested like never before!" Trump tweeted.

US President Donald Trump meets with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during the UN General Assembly in New York, September 21, 2017. /Reuters Photo

The latest trading of insults between the two leaders followed Trump's speech to the United Nations General Assembly earlier this week, in which the US president branded Kim "Rocket Man" and threatened to "totally destroy" the DPRK. Trump had earlier threatened Pyongyang with "fire and fury."

On Thursday, Washington announced tougher sanctions on Pyongyang.

Kim said on Friday that the DPRK would consider the "highest level of hardline countermeasure in history" against the US, while DPRK's Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho indicated his country could consider a hydrogen bomb test over the Pacific Ocean of an unprecedented scale.

The DPRK detonated a hydrogen bomb on September 3, which was its sixth and most powerful nuclear test.

DPRK leader Kim Jong Un makes a statement regarding US President Donald Trump's speech at the UN General Assembly, September 22, 2017. /Reuters Photo

China on Friday urged all parties involved in the Korean Peninsula issue to exercise restraint and stop provocations, following the escalation of bellicose rhetoric between Washington and Pyongyang.

Lu Kang, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, warned all relevant sides against "adding fuel to the flames."