Story highlights The remarks come ahead of a US-South Korea drill

Trump also called a "nuclear demon"

Seoul, South Korea (CNN) US President Donald Trump and his administration are "begging for nuclear war," North Korea's Foreign Ministry said Saturday.

Trump is "staging an extremely dangerous nuclear gamble on the Korean peninsula," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a written statement that also calls Trump a "nuclear demon" and a "disruptor of global peace."

The comments came ahead of a joint US-South Korean military drill, scheduled to begin Monday. About 12,000 US military personnel and 230 planes are expected to participate in the drill, known as Vigilant Ace.

North Korean officials made similar comments last month . A furious commentary published in a state-run newspaper said Trump had displayed his "true colors as an old lunatic, mean trickster and human reject" during his visit to the Korean Peninsula.

Days later, Trump placed North Korea on the list of state sponsors of terrorism ; the country was removed from that list in 2008 by George W. Bush.

Read More