North Korea urges Trump to drop Pompeo from talks; U.S. plays down weapons test

North Korea's state news agency said Kwon Jong Gun, in charge of U.S. affairs at the foreign ministry, had warned that no one could predict what would happen if Washington did not abandon the "root cause" that compelled Pyongyang to develop nuclear weapons. The statement came shortly after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test of a new tactical guided weapon, North Korea's first weapon test since a summit between him and Trump broke down in late February. U.S. officials appeared to play down both developments, with acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan telling reporters at the Pentagon that while there had been a test, it was "not a ballistic missile." A spokeswoman for the State Department said it was aware of the report about Pompeo and added: "The United States remains ready to engage North Korea in a constructive negotiation." Despite the summit breakdown, North Korea had maintained a freeze in nuclear and ballistic missile testing in place since 2017,and Trump has repeatedly pointed to that as an important outcome from a year of engagement with Pyongyang.