North Korea tests new weapon

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday reportedly oversaw the testing of a new “tactical guided weapon” following failed denuclearization talks with the United States earlier this year. North Korea’s Academy of Defense Science carried out the unspecified weapon testing, the first recorded since November 2018, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency. Kim said the “development of the weapon system serves as an event of very weighty significance in increasing the combat power of the people’s army.” The communist country also demanded that the United States remove Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from nuclear negotiations.

Last week, Kim said the Trump administration has until the end of the year to offer mutually acceptable terms to salvage the high-stakes nuclear diplomacy. Negotiations between Kim and President Donald Trump stalled in February in Hanoi, Vietnam. North Korea asked Trump to remove all sanctions directed at its economy, but U.S. officials said the move could eventually subsidize North Korea’s nuclear activity and reiterated calls for complete denuclearization.

Kim is scheduled to visit Russia later this month on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invitation, the Kremlin said Thursday.