- North Korea on Monday slammed US national security adviser John Bolton as a "war monger" and "human defect."
- It followed Bolton saying that North Korea's recent missile test violated United Nations resolutions.
- North Korea's state media published a scathing rebuke of Bolton, calling him a "human defect" who "deserves an earlier vanishing."
- President Donald Trump on Saturday said he — unlike Bolton — wasn't "disturbed" by the recent missile launches, and trusts Kim Jong Un to handle the situation.
North Korea on Monday slammed US national security adviser John Bolton as a "war monger" and "human defect," after Bolton said North Korea's recent missile test violated United Nations resolutions.
Bolton prompted North Korea's anger on Saturday while speaking to reporters in Tokyo ahead of Trump's four-day state visit.
On the topic of North Korea, Bolton said there was "no doubt" that its short-range ballistic missile testing earlier this month violated resolutions by the United Nations Security Council.
"The UN resolution prohibits the launch of any ballistic missiles,"he told reporters. He said the US would not demure from its position on sanctions, outlined at the most recent summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump in Hanoi.
He also encouraged Kim to return to the negotiating table.
"Trump has held the door open for Kim, the next step is for Kim to walk through it," he said.
In contrast, President Trump said that he wasn't "disturbed" by the recent missile launches, adding that he still has confidence in Kim to "keep his promise."
"North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me," Trump said in a tweet on Saturday, downplaying the launches. "Some of my people" appears to be a reference to Bolton.
North Korea did not take well to Bolton's comments, and on Monday the country's state news agency published a scathing rebuke.
Read more:Trump touts 'good respect' for North Korea despite renewed missile tests and Abe disagreement
"Bolton, [the] US National Security Adviser has taken the issue over the regular military drill of our army, claiming that it is a violation of the 'resolutions' of the United Nations Security Council," an unnamed spokesperson for the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, according to the Korean Central News Agency. "His claim is indeed much more than ignorant."
The statement continued, claiming that UN Security Council resolutions are "illegal" and North Korea does not recognize them.
"Our military drill neither targeted anyone nor endangered the surrounding countries," it said.
"It is not a mere coincidence that criticisms are now being heard in the US that Bolton is a war monger whispering war to the President," it added.
"After all, it will be fit to call Bolton not a security adviser striving for security but a security-destroying adviser who is wrecking peace and security."
"It is not at all strange that perverse words always come out from the mouth of a structurally defective guy, and such a human defect deserves an earlier vanishing."
While visiting Japan this weekend, Trump touted the "great respect" between the US and North Korea, and told reporters during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that he holds "different" views on North Korea's recent missile tests.
Abe said he disagreed with Trump's view on North Korea's missile testing but added that he agreed with Trump on efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.