United States President Donald Trump is a “hideous criminal sentenced to death by the Korean people” and can “never be pardoned” for mocking Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, North Korean state media said on Wednesday.

On Sunday, Trump had called Kim Jong-un “short and fat”, in response to North Korea calling him an “old lunatic”.

“The worst crime for which he can never be pardoned is that he dared [to] malignantly hurt the dignity of the supreme leadership,” an editorial in the official newspaper Rodong Sinmun said. “He should know that he is just a hideous criminal sentenced to death by the Korean people.”

The editorial also claimed that Trump cancelled his visit to the demilitarised zone between the North and South Korea last week because he was scared, according to AFP. On November 8, Trump’s visit to the border zone was cancelled because of fog and poor visibility.

“It wasn’t the weather,” the editorial said. “He was just too scared to face the glaring eyes of our troops.”

Trump and Kim have taken jibes at each other in the past few weeks, with Kim once calling Trump a “deranged old man” and “dotard” after being called the “Little Rocket Man”.