US national security advisor is a ‘war maniac’, says North Korea
SEOUL North Korea slammed US National Security Adviser John Bolton yesterday, calling him a "war maniac" who should be banished, just as President Donald Trump offered a positive outlook on relations with Pyongyang.
Talks between Washington and Pyongyang collapsed during a summit between Mr Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi in February when they failed to agree on denuclearisation.
The North has since sought to raise the pressure and carried out two short-range missile tests earlier this month.
Mr Bolton said on Saturday there was "no doubt" they violated UN Security Council resolutions against ballistic missile launches, but insisted Washington was still ready to resume talks.
A spokesman for the North's foreign ministry dismissed Mr Bolton's remarks, saying Pyongyang had never accepted the UN bans on ballistic technology, which denied its "rights as a sovereign nation".
"Bolton said our regular military drills violated UNSC resolutions, which is beyond stupid," he said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
"Recently, he is living up to his notoriety as a war maniac by keeping busy with efforts to start another war in the Middle East and South America," the spokesman added.
Calling Bolton "structurally faulty", he added that the US official was working to "destroy peace and security".
"Such human defect must go away as soon as possible," the spokesman said.
The statement came just minutes after Mr Trump - on a visit to Japan - said there was "great respect" between the United States and North Korea and predicted "lots of good things".- AFP
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