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The US State Department said the postponement of diplomatic talks between the United States and North Korea was "just a matter of timing," but declined to give details. (November 7th)
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This undated image published by the North Korean Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on November 1, 2018 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting the construction site of the North Korean tourist region. Hot Spring in Yangdok County, South Phyongan Province.(Photo: KCNA VIA KNS, AFP / Getty Images)

SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen the successful testing of a "newly developed, state-of-the-art tactical weapon," official media reported on Friday.

KCNA News said Kim had overseen the high-tech weapons test at the country's Academy of Defense Sciences. No details on the type of weapon have been given.

According to the report, Kim expressed his "great satisfaction" with the success of the trial and said it was "a vivid demonstration of the validity of the Party's policy of giving priority to science and technology." of the defense".

The weapons trial, the first publicly announced since last year, comes as negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang over the Communist nation's nuclear weapons program are deadlocked.

North Korea has agreed to suspend nuclear and missile testing as part of ongoing diplomatic efforts with South Korea and the United States. The Center for Strategic and International Security, based in Washington, revealed this week that the North had at least 13 secret operations bases where the regime continues its ballistic missile program.

Pyongyang has also heated up his speeches recently, expressing his anger over the ongoing economic sanctions and joint military exercises underway in South Korea.

More: President Trump said the easing of sanctions on North Korea was a "two-way street"

More: Kim Jong Un wants a second summit with Donald Trump, says Moon Jae-in

Earlier this month, the North Korean Foreign Ministry warned that it could resume its "pyongjin" simultaneous nuclear weapons and economic development policy if sanctions are not lifted.

North Korea seeks to establish a progressive process of easing sanctions for concessions related to the dismantling of its nuclear arsenal. Pyongyang also wants a peace declaration formally ending the Korean War, which took place between 1950 and 1953 and was interrupted by an armistice.

However, the United States has maintained that complete denuclearization must take place before these conditions can be met.

Pyongyang also criticized the resumption of small-scale military exercises by the US and South Korean navies earlier this month, calling for the end of "all hostile acts".

Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump signed a vague deal in June at the historic Singapore summit, which promised to work toward a "complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," but details on how to achieve this objective remain rare. North Korea has made concessions, such as the dismantling of a nuclear test site, which would remain at best symbolic gestures, according to critics.

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The State Department issued a statement following North Korea's latest weapons test, saying the United States was confident that Pyongyang would still honor the Singapore deal.

"We remain convinced that the promises made by President Trump and President Kim will be fulfilled," a spokesman said in a statement.

North Korea has abruptly canceled a scheduled meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New York last week, but a second summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un is still scheduled for 2019, confirmed Thursday the vice president. President Mike Pence.

Mr Pence said the United States would not ask North Korea to provide a complete list of its nuclear weapons and missile sites before the meeting, thereby removing what was perceived as a precondition essential.

In an interview with NBC in Singapore, where Pence participates in the regional summits, the vice president said the goal of the next Trump-Kim meeting will be to come up with a verifiable plan to list the northern arms programs.

"I think it will be absolutely imperative at this next summit that we develop a plan to identify all the weapons in question, to identify all the development sites, to allow the inspection of the sites and the plan of dismantling of nuclear weapons, "he said. I said.

"Now we have to see results," he added.

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