North Korea warns it may resume nuclear, ballistic missile tests

North Korea on Thursday threatened to resume nuclear and long-range missile tests, accusing the U.S. of pushing members of the United Nations Security Council to condemn its recent weapons evaluations. 

Pyongyang’s latest warning, reported by The Associated Press, comes after nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea in Sweden broke down last weekend. North Korea said those talks failed because Washington did not present any new proposals.

{mosads}North Korea’s foreign ministry in the new statement particularly took issue with criticism by the European members of the U.N. Security Council over recent ballistic missile and other weapons tests. Pyongyang has maintained that the tests are purely defensive in nature.

It also accused the U.S. of pressuring European members to censure Pyongyang after having “begged for working-level North Korea-U.S. talks” in Sweden and that the condemnations were a “grave provocation to us” since no action was taken after the U.S. tested an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile this month.

Pyongyang warned that “our patience has a limit,” adding that it can respond “on the same level” and hinting it may reverse recent disarmament steps it took to build confidence with Washington.

Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have held two official nuclear summits that have thus far yielded little progress. The last one, which took place in Vietnam in February, ended early without an agreement. North Korea has blamed the stalled negotiations on Washington’s “political and military provocations.”