Donald Trump vows to 'totally destroy' North Korea if it doesn't relent, says Kim is 'on a suicide mission'

Trump calls Kim Jong Un 'rocket man on suicide mission'Says U.S. will be 'forced to totally destroy North Korea'Says Iran is an 'economically depleted rogue state'Used 41-minute speech to also criticise the Cuban governmentFinancial markets show little reaction to Trump’s speech

U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

Steve Holland and Jeff Mason

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States will be forced to "totally destroy" North Korea unless Pyongyang backs down from its nuclear challenge, mocking North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a "rocket man" on a suicide mission.

Loud murmurs filled the green-marbled U.N. General Assembly hall when Trump issued his sternest warning yet to North Korea, whose ballistic missile launches and nuclear tests have rattled the globe.