North Korea lashed out at a new nominee for South Korea's national security adviser on Monday, calling him a military gangster and a traitor, the latest in a series of diatribes against South Korean officials.

The North's main newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, claimed the nominee, Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, is behind South Korea's confrontational policy toward North Korea.

The accusation came a day after President Park Geun-hye nominated the defense chief to be her new national security adviser to avoid a leadership vacuum on the national security team. Park also named a former joint chief of staff as Kim's replacement.

It is not the first time that the North has displayed angry reactions to Kim, who has repeatedly vowed to strongly retaliate against North Korea if provoked again.

Last year, North Korean soldiers chanted a slogan, "Let's tear to pieces of Kim Kwan-jin" as their trained military dogs tore to pieces Kim's effigy during a training session, according to footage of the North's state television. North Korean soldiers were also shown firing at a paper target overlapped with Kim's image.

The North's latest diatribe comes as tensions persist on the divided peninsula over the North's missile and nuclear programs. (Yonhap)