Donald Trump believes he is the only recent president smart enough to deal with North Korea

DONALD Trump’s “excellent” results on a cognitive test appear to have armed him with a whole new level of bravado.

US President Donald Trump. Pic: AP

DONALD Trump has suggested he is the only recent president with the mental acuity to resolve tensions with North Korea.

In wide-ranging interview with Reuters, the US President noted his predecessors had failed to rein in North Korea’s nuclear missile programs.

During the Oval office chat, Trump cast doubt whether conducting talks with North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un over the nation’s missile program would be useful.

“I’d sit down, but I’m not sure that sitting down will solve the problem,” he said, noting failed past negotiations.

According to Reuters, Mr Trump blamed past presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama for failing to resolve the crisis, and appeared to attack their intelligence referring to the cognitive test he underwent last week receiving a “perfect score”.

“I guess they all realised they were going to have to leave it to a president that scored highest on tests,” he said.

President Donald Trump now believes he’s smarter than Barack Obama and his other predecessors after scoring well on a cognitive health test. Picture: Rob Carr/AP

Mr Trump also said Russia was helping North Korea get supplies in violation of international sanctions as Pyongyang gets “closer every day” to being able to deliver a long-range missile to the US.

“Russia is not helping us at all with North Korea,” he said. “What China is helping us with, Russia is denting.”

Mr Trump declined to say whether he had been in communication with Kim.

He said he hoped the standoff with North Korea could be resolved “in a peaceful way” but added “it’s very possible that it can’t”.

Trump said Pyongyang is steadily advancing in being able to deliver a missile to the United States.

“They’re not there yet, but they’re close. And they get closer every day,” said Trump.

North Korea said after its last intercontinental ballistic missile launch in November that the test had put the US mainland within range. Some experts agreed it could fly as far as Washington DC.

Mr Trump wouldn’t say if he had communicated with Kim Jong Un. Picture: Ahn Young-joon/AP

North Korea hasn’t shown it has mastered all technical hurdles, including development of a re-entry vehicle needed to deliver a heavy nuclear warhead reliably atop an ICBM.

Trump welcomed talks between North and South Korea over the Winter Olympics. He would not say whether the US is considering a limited, pre-emptive attack. “We’re playing a very, very hard game of poker and you don’t want to reveal your hand,” he said.

Western European security sources told Reuters in late December Russian tankers supplied fuel to North Korea on at least three occasions in violation of international sanctions. Russia has denied it.

North Korea relies on imported fuel to keep its struggling economy functioning and needs oil for its missile and nuclear program.

Trump has repeatedly blamed a US investigation into whether Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election for hindering an improvement in relations.

“He can do a lot,” Trump said of President Vladimir Putin. “But unfortunately we don’t have much of a relationship with Russia, and in some cases it’s probable that what China takes back, Russia gives. So the net result is not as good as it could be.”

— with Reuters