24 December

Former US national security advisor John Bolton says the Trump administration might soon need to admit publicly that its policy on North Korea has failed badly.

On Sunday, news website Axios published an interview with Bolton, who was fired by President Trump in September.

The former advisor said that he does not think the Trump administration "really means it" when Trump and top officials vow to stop North Korea from having nuclear weapons.

He also said the idea that the United States is exerting maximum pressure on the North is unfortunately not true.

Bolton criticized Trump for saying he is not worried about North Korea's short-range missiles tests.

Bolton said that those remarks can be interpreted as meaning the president is not worried about the potential risk to US allies Japan and South Korea, or to American troops deployed in the region.

He said if North Korean leader Kim Jong Un follows through on his threatened Christmas provocation, the White House should admit they got it wrong on North Korea.

Bolton argued that the US should strengthen its pressure on Pyongyang by cooperating with its allies in the region.

NHK