North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has declared an end to moratoriums on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests with a threat to demonstrate a new strategic weapon soon.
The announcement was reported by Pyongyang state media today.
Washington has responded by urging Kim to take a different course. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed that the US wanted peace not confrontation.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said he believes Kim will stick to his commitments on denuclearization, even as he threatened the new weapon.
A self-imposed ban on such tests has been the centrepiece of the nuclear diplomacy between Pyongyang and Washington over the past two years. Despite three meetings between Kim and Trump, little tangible progress has been made.
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