"Kim Jong-un has overseen the testing of a new “high-technology” tactical weapon at the National Academy of Defense Sciences," the official KCNA news agency reported on November 16th. She added that the test had been successful but did not specify the nature of the weapon tested (could it be a "railgun"?). This weapon, which has been developed over a long period, "helps to build an invulnerable defense for our country and strengthens the fighting power of our people's army," the agency said.
North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un (Picture source: KCNA)
US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un met last June at a landmark summit in Singapore, which resulted in an agreement on nuclear disarmament on the Korean peninsula, the terms of which have remained vague. Since that summit, the North has refrained from conducting new ballistic or nuclear tests, dismantled a missile test site and promised, if the US agrees to make concessions, to dismantle its main nuclear complex. But progress has been slow, and both countries blame each other for not keeping their word. Donald Trump said he hopes for a second meeting with Kim Jong-un early next year.
Last week, an interview between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Kim Jong-un's right-winger Kim Yong Chol in New York was postponed. US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said the North Korean leaders had postponed the meeting because "they were not ready".
In addition, Trump said that the United States was "perfectly aware" of the existence of North Korean ballistic missile sites presented as secrets in a recent study. The study was published by researchers at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington think tank. This information "is inaccurate", "there is nothing new, and none of this is abnormal," said the US president on Twitter, denouncing "still Fake News".
An expert from the Federation of American Scientists, Adam Mount, called for caution after the publication of the KCNA article. "It reminds you that the break (from North Korea) in missile testing is voluntary, partial and can end without warnings if it is not explicitly codified," he said on Twitter. Professor Yang Moo-jin, of the North Korea University of Studies in Seoul, said North Korea's announcement of a new weapon test was "a signal sent to the United States ahead of the talks. high level that his patience also begins to run out. "
