North Korea slams Trump’s ‘warmonger’ Asia tour: state media

North Korea on Saturday slammed Donald Trump’s “warmonger” Asia tour, saying it would only accelerate Pyongyang’s push for a full-fledged nuclear deterrent.

Trump has tried to rally support to curb Pyongyang’s rogue weapons programme during his trip, urging regional powers to stand united against the North’s government.

In the first comments on the US leader’s visit by a North Korean official, a Pyongyang foreign ministry spokesman said it was a “warmonger’s visit for confrontation to rid the DPRK of its self-defensive nuclear deterrence”, according to the state-run KCNA news agency.

Tensions over North Korea’s weapons programme have surged in recent months, as Pyongyang carried out a sixth nuclear test — by far its largest to date — and test fired dozens of missiles, some capable of reaching the US mainland.

In a speech to the South Korean parliament on Wednesday, Trump warned Pyongyang not to underestimate the United States, while offering leader Kim Jong-Un a better future if he gives up his nuclear ambitions.

But in its retort Saturday, the North said Trump’s warnings “can never frighten us or put a stop to our advance”, but rather “pushes us to speed up the efforts to accomplish the great cause of completing the state nuclear force”.