North Korea slams 'war maniac' Bolton

North Korea slammed US National Security Advisor John Bolton on Monday, calling him a "war maniac" and "war monger", just as President Donald Trump offered a positive outlook on relations with Pyongyang.

Talks between Washington and Pyongyang have been deadlocked since the collapse of a summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi in February when they failed to agree a deal on denuclearisation.

The North has since sought to raise the pressure and carried out two short-range missile tests earlier this month.

Bolton said 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 Bolton's remarks, saying Pyongyang had never recognised the UN bans on ballistic technology, which denied the "rights to existence and development of a sovereign state".

"His claim is indeed much more than ignorant," he said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Without referring to the weapons as missiles, the statement said the launches did not target or threaten any neighbouring countries.

Banning launches using ballistic technology is "tantamount to a demand that the DPRK should give up its self-defensive right," he said, using the acronym for the North's official name.

The spokesman went on to denounce Bolton, calling him a "war maniac" who developed various "provocative policies" against the North after the Bush administration designated it part of the Axis of Evil along with Iran and Iraq in 2002.

He accused the hawkish official as starting the Iraqi war and leading efforts to scrap the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty between the US and Russia, "that has served to ensure peace in Europe for decades".

"He is now gaining notoriety as a warmonger for his obsession with other wars in the Middle East and South America," the spokesman added.

"It is not a mere coincidence that criticisms are now being heard in the US that Bolton is a warmonger whispering war to the President when he himself evaded military service, saying he had no desire to die in a Southeast Asian rice paddy," he added.

Calling Bolton "structurally defective", he added that the US official was "a security-destroying adviser who is wrecking peace and security".

The statement came just minutes after Trump -- on a visit to Japan -- said there was "great respect" between the United States and North Korea and predicted "lots of good things".

Trump expressed confidence in his relationship with Kim at the weekend and downplayed Pyongyang's recent missile launches, calling them "small weapons" that "disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me".

Last week, KCNA launched a diatribe against Democratic former US vice president Joe Biden, calling him an "imbecile" and a "fool of low IQ", prompting White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders to say that Trump agreed with the assessment.

Trump strikes dovish tone on N. Korea, Iran
Tokyo (AFP) May 27, 2019 - President Donald Trump Monday hailed a "great respect" between the US and nuclear-armed North Korea, as he also held out the possibility of talks with Iran, stressing he did not want "terrible things" to happen.

Ahead of summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump played down recent belligerence from Pyongyang, which last month fired short-range missiles that raised tensions in the region.

"I personally think that lots of good things will come with North Korea, I feel that. I may be right, I may be wrong, but I feel that," Trump told reporters at Abe's office.

"There's a good respect built, maybe a great respect built between... the United States and North Korea, but we will see what happens," added the president, whose failed Hanoi talks in February with the North's leader Kim Jong Un sparked a fresh spike in tensions.

He noted that when he came to office, there was "testing all the time, nuclear testing at the highest level, and that seems to have stopped".

On Sunday, Trump dismissed the recent missile tests from the North as "some small weapons" and appeared to undercut his National Security Advisor John Bolton, who had said the day before that the launches contravened UN Security Council resolutions.

Trump said the recent tests had "disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me", which was widely seen as a reference to his hawkish advisor.

Bolton also took fire from a North Korean foreign ministry spokesman who described him as "structurally faulty" and a "human defect" that "must go away as soon as possible".

- 'Terrible things' -

Trump also struck a relatively dovish tone on Iran, amid mounting tensions with the historic American foe.

"I do believe that Iran would like to talk, and if they'd like to talk, we'd like to talk also," Trump said.

"We'll see what happens, but I know for a fact that the prime minister (Abe) is very close with the leadership of Iran... nobody wants to see terrible things happen, especially me."

Abe is reportedly weighing a trip to Tehran in a bid to mediate in the Middle East crisis and Trump appeared to give the green light, saying "we'll see what happens, that would be fine".

Trump is in Japan as the first foreign leader to visit the country's newly enthroned Emperor Naruhito -- an honour Abe hopes will help charm the US president when it comes to thorny trade talks.

And while the US president again lashed out at what he called a "tremendous imbalance" in the trade relationship between the world's top and number-three economies, he said: "I'm sure that will work out over a period of time."

"I think we will be announcing some things, probably in August, that will be very good for both countries."

On Sunday, Trump had already taken a softer note, saying that "much" of that deal would wait until Abe faces upper house elections likely in July -- as rumours swirl that the popular prime minister will combine that vote with a snap general election.

Top Japanese and American trade negotiators spent more than two hours locked in talks on Saturday night but failed to achieve a breakthrough, although the Japanese side said there was more "understanding" between the two.

- 'Great honour' -

Monday marked the start of the official programme for the two leaders after a fun-filled weekend of sumo, golf and meals out. Trump said on Sunday he was having a "great time" with his friend and close ally Abe.

Trump said it was a "great honour" to be the first to meet Naruhito, who took the Chrysanthemum Throne only three weeks ago, after his father stepped down in the first abdication in two centuries.

In the morning, Trump, dressed in a dark suit and red tie, reviewed the Japanese honour guard and greeted dozens of Japanese and visiting US officials as a military band played.

Naruhito, wearing a light blue tie, and his wife Empress Masako, who was in a white hat and jacket, accompanied Trump and his wife Melania, who wore a summery white dress and tall red high heels.

Walking together through the palace, notable for its elegant, restrained decor, the two couples then sat down for a further chat where official translators found themselves with little to do -- Naruhito having gone to Oxford and Masako graduating from Harvard.

In the evening, Trump and Melania will be back at the palace for a banquet.

That will mark the lavish high point in a Japan visit laden with feel-good moments aimed at celebrating US-Japanese ties at a time of growing regional uncertainty due to US trade policies, a rising China and nuclear-armed North Korea.

Related Links
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Trump strikes dovish tone on N. Korea, Iran
Tokyo (AFP) May 27, 2019
President Donald Trump Monday hailed a "great respect" between the US and nuclear-armed North Korea, as he also held out the possibility of talks with Iran, stressing he did not want "terrible things" to happen. Ahead of summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump played down recent belligerence from Pyongyang, which last month fired short-range missiles that raised tensions in the region. "I personally think that lots of good things will come with North Korea, I feel that. I may ... read more