Trump claims Obama was ‘so close to starting a big war with North Korea’

President Trump has claimed that former President Obama had indicated “he was so close to starting a big war with North Korea.”

Trump made the remark Friday during a Rose Garden press conference where he took credit for the U.S.‘s improved relationship with North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-un.

Trump said: “When I came into office, I met right there, in the Oval Office, with President Obama. And I sat in those beautiful chairs and we talked. It was supposed to be 15 minutes. As you know, it ended up being many times longer than that.”

"I said, ’What’s the biggest problem?’ He said, ‘By far, North Korea.’ And I don’t want to speak for him, but I believe he would have gone to war with North Korea," Trump added. “I think he was ready to go to war. In fact, he told me he was so close to starting a big war with North Korea. And where are we now? No missiles. No rockets. No nuclear testing. We’ve learned a lot.”

While Trump did not go into specifics, he may have been referring to Obama’s reported consideration of a pre-emptive strike in September 2016 amid the regime’s ramped up missile testing activities.

The New York Times notes: “Obama asked if a surgical strike could take out the country’s arsenal, but after being told it would require a ground invasion, he rejected any action as ‘unthinkable.’”