John Bolton said Trump was never serious about stopping North Korea from building nuclear weapons, as the time for Kim Jong Un's ominous 'Christmas gift' approaches
- Former White House national security adviser John Bolton told Axios that he doubts Trump "really means it" over pledges to halt North Korea's plans to developed a long-range missile capable of striking the US.
- Bolton told the site that if the Trump administration was serious about stopping North Korea's weapons program "it would be pursuing a different course."
- Recent satellite photographs show new activity at two sites key to North Korea's missile program, with officials fearing that Pyongyang's pledge of a "Christmas gift" to the US may take the form of new weapons tests.
- Trump has boasted of his ability to broker a deal with Kim Jong Un and reduce the threat from the rogue state, but so far there is little for the US to show for a series of photo-op summits between the leaders and a new wave of sanctions.
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Former White House national security adviser John Bolton said that he doesn't believe that President Donald Trump "really means it" when he says that he is determined to stop North Korea developing nuclear missiles that could be used to target the US.
Speaking to Axios, Bolton said that if Trump and his officials were serious about stopping North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's ambitions to expand its nuclear weapons program "it would be pursuing a different course."
"The idea that we are somehow exerting maximum pressure on North Korea is just unfortunately not true," Bolton said, referring to Trump's claims his administration was applying "maximum pressure" on the North Korea in the form of punishing sanctions to extract concessions on its weapons program.
He went on to describe Trump's pledges to stop North Korea obtaining a nuclear weapon that could hit the US or its allies as a mere "rhetorical policy."
Bolton's comments came as new satellite images emerged last week, showing new activity at two sites key to North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missiles program. In a recent statement North Korea's regime warned of a "Christmas gift" to the US if it does not ease up on sanctions.
If Kim does decide the defy US attempts to extract concessions, Bolton said he hopes the administration will say "we've tried. The policy's failed."
"We're going to go back now and make it clear that in a variety of steps, together with our allies, when we say it's unacceptable, we're going to demonstrate we will not accept it."
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Bolton's claims.
A notoriously hawkish national security veteran, Bolton left the White House in September.
His departure followed a series of clashes with Trump and rivals in the adminsitration over key national security issues, including Iranian aggression in the Middle East and the bid to oust Venezuela's President Nicholas Maduro from power.
While Bolton has advocated launching military strikes against North Korea to halt its weapons program, Trump has touted his skills as a "deal maker" capable of wrestling new agreements and new concessions from hostile regimes.
So far there has been little progress with North Korea, with Kim offering Trump effusive public praise and taking part in high profile photo-ops with him but offering nothing in the form of sustantive concessions.
"Time is on the side of the proliferator," Bolton told Axios.
"The more time there is, the more time there is to develop, test and refine both the nuclear component and the ballistic missile component of the program."
Since his departure Bolton has launched a series of thinly veiled attacks on Trump and his foreign policy, but the comments published Sunday were his most openly critical to date.