North Korea calls President Trump a 'psychopath...dealing with political crisis back home'

North Korea capital Pyongyang's official newspaper Rodong Sinmun called US President Donald Trump a "psychopath"in an editorial.

"South Korea must realise that following psychopath Trump...will only lead to disaster," an editorial carried by the paper said.

The paper added that Donald Trump was in a "tough situation"back home dealing with domestic political crisis and was thus trying to divert everyone's attention by toying with the idea of a preemptive strike on North Korea.

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Tensions between Washington and Pyongyang have rocketed since the death of Otto Warmbier, who was released fromNorth Korean detention last week. Warmbier was a 22-year-old student who had been heldin a hard labour camp for 17 monthsfor trying to steala propoganda poster.

Earlier in the day, the coroner's office said it had received Warmbier's body for an autopsy examination and was expecting to release preliminary findings later on Tuesday or on Wednesday. (Reuters)

After Warmbier's death, President Trump calledNorth Koreaa "brutal regime"and saidhe would strive to "prevent such tragedies from befalling innocent people at the hands of regimes that do not respect the rule of law or basic human decency".

South Korean President Moon Jae-In echoed these words when he said in an interview with CBS Television's show, This Morning:"I believe we must now have the perception that North Korea is an irrational regime. North Korea bears responsibility for the student's death."

Moon is scheduled to visit the White House next week. A centre-left politicianswornin last month, he favours engagement with the North, as opposed to his predecessor Park Geun-Hye.

Washington has also stepped up its muscle-flexing in the region, flying two B-1 bombers over the Korean peninsula Tuesday in a planned training mission with Japan and South Korea as its latest show of force.