Loading North Korea tested short-range ballistic missiles on May 4 and 9, ending a pause in launches that began in late 2017. The tests have been 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 Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency, the North Korean spokesman said the North was rightfully exercising its rights of self-defence with the launches. "Demanding us to ban all launches using ballistic technology regardless of range is the same as asking us to relinquish our rights for self-defence," the spokesman said. The spokesman said Bolton was an "ignorant" hard-liner who throughout different US administrations had constantly pushed provocative policies against North Korea, which the spokesman said included endorsements of pre-emptive strikes and regime change.

The spokesman also said that Bolton's "hammer act" was responsible for the collapse of a major nuclear deal between the countries reached in 1994, when the North agreed to halt its nuclear program in exchange for US fuel aid. The deal broke down in 2002 after US intelligence agencies said North Korea was continuing its pursuit of bombs with a secret uranium enrichment program. It's not that strange that crooked sound will always come out the mouth of a man who is structurally flawed. North Korean spokesman "Bolton should not be called a security adviser who works to secure security, but an adviser for security destruction who destroys peace and security," the spokesman said. "It's not that strange that crooked sound will always come out the mouth of a man who is structurally flawed, and it's best that this defective human product goes away as soon as possible."

Experts say the weapons North Korea tested this month are new solid-fuel missiles that are potentially nuclear capable and would strengthen the North's ability to conduct strikes on targets throughout South Korea. North Korea fired two suspected short-range missiles toward the sea on Thursday, South Korean officials said. Credit:AP But while expressing concern that the launches may run against the spirit of an inter-Korean military agreement reached last year to reduce tensions, South Korea has been eager to downplay the significance of the tests as it tries to keep a positive atmosphere for dialogue alive. South Korea's presidential office and military have refused to call the launches outright provocations, and have yet to confirm that the missiles were ballistic weapons, although most experts say they clearly were. "There's no way for us to know why National Security Adviser Bolton made such comments," said a South Korean presidential official, who asked not to be named during a background briefing to reporters on Monday. "There's no change in our official stance that the South Korean and US militaries under coordination are continuing to analyse the missiles."