George W. Bush on Wednesday angrily rejected criticisms of Tuesday’s six-party agreement on North Korea’s nuclear programme while singing the praises of multilateral diplomacy.

The US president’s decision to back the deal has attracted fierce attacks from former colleagues and allies including John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, who called it a “charade” and a “hollow agreement”. Mr Bolton was forced to stand down from the job last December when it became apparent he would not be confirmed by the US Senate.