Donald Trump is replacing national security adviser HR McMasterwith the hawkish former Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton in the latest administration shake-up.

In a sign of the administration’s unusually high rate of turnover, the pro-Iraq war hardliner will become Mr Trump’s third National Security Adviser.

"General McMaster’s leadership of the National Security Council staff has helped my administration accomplish great things to bolster America’s national security. He helped develop our America First National Security Strategy, revitalize our alliances in the Middle East, smash ISIS, bring North Korea to the table, and strengthen our nation’s prosperity,” Mr Trump said in a statement.

The President said on Twitter that an official handover would occur in April.

“I am thankful to President Donald J. Trump for the opportunity to serve him and our nation as national security adviser. I am grateful for the friendship and support of the members of the National Security Council who worked together to provide the President with the best options to protect and advance our national interests”, Mr McMaster said in a statement.

Mr Trump's initial pick for the role, General Michael Flynn, stepped aside after it emerged he had misled officials about conversations with the then-Russian ambassador; Mr Flynn subsequently pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents who were investigating potential coordination between the Russian government and the Trump presidential campaign.

In elevating Mr Bolton, a staunch proponent of the Iraq war, the President has chosen an aide whose support for military entanglements abroad would seem to clash with Mr Trump's “America First” instincts and campaign promises to emphasize domestic issues.

The change also comes at a key moment for the Trump administration's foreign policy after the President committed to what would be an unprecedented meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to discuss denuclearisation.

The President is no stranger to using vivid language to denounce North Korea, threatening the regime of Kim Jong-un with military force as the country menaced neighbours and tested multiple intercontinental ballistic missiles in recent months.

But Mr Trump has also embraced a diplomatic opening with his extraordinary agreement to meet with Mr Kim. His openness to negotiating an end to North Korea's nuclear program contrasts with Mr Bolton's repeated recent declarations that diplomatic approaches to North Korea cannot succeed.

Mr Trump has frequently excoriated a deal forged during the Obama administration to halt Iran’s nuclear program.

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