U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton denied Sunday that last week's summit with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was a failure, despite President Donald Trump coming home empty-handed.

A high-stakes second meeting to strike a disarmament deal with DPRK leader Kim Jong Un broke up Thursday in Hanoi, without even a joint statement.

Bolton told CBS that Trump's failure to obtain commitments from Pyongyang on destroying its nuclear capability should be seen as "a success, defined as the president protecting and advancing American national interests."

He said the issue was whether the DPRK would accept what the president called "the big deal" – denuclearizing completely – or something less, "which was unacceptable to us."

"So the president held firm to his view. He deepened his relationship with Kim Jong Un. I don't view it as a failure at all when American national interests are protected," Bolton added.

According to senior U.S. officials, in the week leading up to the Hanoi summit, the DPRK side had demanded the lifting of effectively all UN Security Council economic sanctions imposed on Pyongyang since March 2016.

And in return, Pyongyang was offering only to close part of the Yongbyon complex, a site covering multiple facilities.