Nikki Haley knocks Trump over North Korea amid Kim-Putin meeting

Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley took a rare swipe at former President Donald Trump over his “friendliness” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Reacting to reports of Kim planning to sync up with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a weapons deal, Haley argued that both Trump’s and President Biden’s approaches fell flat.

“The Kim-Putin partnership is another sign that the dictators of the world are united,” Haley said in a statement. 

“The tyrants who lead China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea hate America and our values. We must take their threats seriously.

“Neither Joe Biden’s weakness nor Donald Trump’s friendliness to Kim have changed North Korea’s direction for the better. These dictators only understand strength.”

Haley served as Trump’s US Ambassador to the UN from 2017 until late 2018. During her tenure, she spearheaded an effort to tighten sanctions against the pariah state, cutting it off from gas and other key goods.

After months of hot rhetoric that culminated with an overture from Kim, Trump later reversed course on the pressure campaign against Pyongyang.

He met with the hermit kingdom leader in 2018 and 2019, seeking to make amends between the two rival nations.

Ultimately, he was unable to lock down a deal on North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs prior to his departure from the White House. Still, Trump has sporadically heaped praise on Kim.

On the campaign trail, Haley has largely refrained from food fights with the 2024 GOP polling king, though she has gone after him over North Korea in the past.

Back in June, Haley diverged from Trump, who congratulated Kim for his country winning a key appointment to the World Health Organization.

She dubbed Kim a “thug” and argued, “There’s no reason we should ever congratulate the face that they are now vice chair of the WHO.”

On Monday, National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson confirmed that US officials believe Kim and Putin are gearing up for a confab.

“We have information that Kim Jong Un expects these discussions to continue, to include leader-level diplomatic engagement in Russia,” Watson said in a statement.

The meeting could happen as soon as next week, US officials told the New York Times. Putin is reportedly seeking to prod Kim into selling him weapons to support his bloody war against neighboring Ukraine.

News of the meeting comes amid reports out of South Korea that Russia floated having joint naval exercises alongside China and North Korea.

Trump is the undisputed 2024 GOP frontrunner with a 39.3% percentage point edge over his nearest foe, Gov. Ron DeSantis in the latest RealClearPolitics national polling aggregate. Haley is in fourth place.