SEOUL, Korea — The Republic Of North Korea on Monday called U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton a “war monger” and “human defect” after he described its recent tests of short-range missiles as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions. The tests were seen as a way for North Korea to pressure Washington to soften its stance on easing sanctions against it without actually causing negotiations to collapse. In the statement carried by the North’s Korean Central News Agency, the North Korean spokesperson said the North was exercising its right of self-defence with the launches. The deal broke down in 2002 after U.S. intelligence agencies said North Korea was continuing its pursuit of bombs with a secret uranium enrichment program. Bolton acknowledged that the United States has not been “hearing much from North Korea” since the summit in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Source: National Post May 27, 2019 16:12 UTC