Donald Trump (pictured) provoked gasps during his State of the Union address as he claimed the US would be in a "major war" with North Korea had he not been elected President.

But a line he skipped in his annual speech was even more shocking.

President Trump was confirming details of another planned meeting with North Korean despot Kim Jong Un, to take place in Vientam on February 27 and 28.

He said: "If I had not been elected President of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea.

"Much work remains to be done, but my relationship with Kim Jong Un is a good one.

"Chairman Kim and I will meet again on February 27 and 28 in Vietnam."

But the original version of the speech, which was briefed out to journalists ahead of the address, included a chilling addition.

It read: "If I had not been elected President of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea, with potentially millions of people killed."

Trump first met Kim on June 12 in Singapore and has been eager to hold a second summit in spite of a lack of concrete progress in persuading North Korea to give up a nuclear weapons program that threatens the United States.

Communist-ruled Vietnam, which has good relations with both the United States and North Korea, had been widely touted as the most likely venue for the meeting.