SEOUL, April 18 (Reuters) - North Korea said on Thursday it no longer wanted to deal with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and said he should be replaced in talks by someone more mature, hours after it announced its first weapons test since nuclear talks broke down. While Kwon did not elaborate on why North Korea felt compelled to develop nuclear weapons, it has long spoken of the need to defend itself from what it sees as U.S. aggression. The young leader said last April that he would stop nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles because the nuclear capabilities of North Korea, which has tested nuclear devices six times, had been verified. A U.S. official said that, according to initial information, U.S. forces did not detect a missile launch from North Korea. Kyungnam University’s Kim Dong-yub said the latest test appeared to partly be a message to the United States that North Korea would not bow to sanctions.

Source: Huffington Post April 18, 2019 08:48 UTC