TOKYO – North Korea’s Foreign Ministry no longer wants to talk to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, asking for him to replaced in nuclear talks with someone who “is more careful and mature in communicating,” state media reported on Thursday. Pompeo is “talking nonsense” by trying to finish working-level negotiations between North Korea and the United States by the end of the year, “which subjects him to public ridicule,” the statement said. The statement is another sign of North Korea’s frustration with the progress of denuclearization talks with the United States, after a summit between Trump and Kim ended abruptly in February without an agreement. Earlier Thursday, North Korea announced it had test-fired a new tactical guided weapon, in its first public weapons test since the summit. In a speech last week, Kim said he would be prepared to meet Trump for a third summit, but only if the United States fundamentally changed its approach.

Source: National Post April 18, 2019 15:11 UTC