Iran press/ Asia: North Korea's state news agency (KCNA) photo showing country’s leader Kim Jong Un supervising missile test marks the first time Kim has publicly attended such a military-focused event since his high-profile summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump in early 2018.
“After seeing the power of the tactical weapon, Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un was so excited to say that another great work was done by the defense scientists and munitions industrial workers to increase the defense capability of the country,” the KCNA reported.
The type of the new weapon has not been identified, but the test does not seem to be in violation of the voluntary moratorium Pyongyang imposed on tests of nuclear and long-range ballistic missiles this year.
In a landmark summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12, in exchange for Kim’s promise to dismantle his nuclear weapons program, Trump has put on hold joint military drills with South Korea and Japan off the Korean Peninsula.
"He's tiptoeing towards a more aggressive posture in negotiations with the US and he's signaling that he's not going to give way and can simply return to his old practices if (the US) don't change their approach," Josh Pollack, senior research associate at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterrey, told CNN.
On Thursday, US Vice President Mike Pence said the US was backing down on a requirement for North Korea to provide a full list of nuclear and missile sites before a second meeting between Trump and Kim.
An official with the North Korean Foreign Ministry said on November 5 that if the US doesn't start removing sanctions on Pyongyang, Kim could restart "building up nuclear forces."
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In Aug. 28, North Korea warned US that talks on nuclear disarmament are in jeopardy after the United States pulled out of a planned visit to discuss the process.
Officials in Pyongyang sent a letter declaring the negotiations were "again at stake and may fall apart”.
South Korea's Unification Ministry on Friday said that they need to check more about North Korea's newly developed weapon inspected by the country's leader Kim Jong Un.
"Regarding the type of weapon, we need to find out more since they didn't specifically mention details of the weapon in the report of Chairman Kim Jong Un's inspection," Deputy Spokesman of south Korean Unification Ministry Lee Eugene Said. 101/205
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