UN hasn't reached full potential due to bureaucracy and mismanagement: Trump

In his first appearance at the United Nations, US President Donald Trump said the "world body had not reached its full potential because of bureaucracy and mismanagement".

"The United Nations was founded on truly noble goals, in recent years the United Nations has not reached its full potential because of bureaucracy and mismanagement," the US president said.

Meanwhile, Trump's chief economic adviser Gary Cohn categorically denied the US had changed its mind on withdrawing from the Paris climate pact.

Cohn speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the UN meeting said: "We made the president's position unambiguous, to where the president stands, where the administration stands on Paris".

In a statement issued after the meeting, Reuters quoted a White House official saying,"We are withdrawing from the Paris Agreement unless we can re-engage on terms more favorable to the United States. This position was made very clear during the breakfast."