20th March, 2017
North Korea marked the final day of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s Asia visit Sunday by claiming to have tested a new type of rocket engine, underlining the country’s defiance of recent calls for calm on the Korean Peninsula.
The test came hours before Tillerson met Chinese President Xi Jinping, the highest level meeting between a US official and China since US President Donald Trump took power in January, CNN reports.
Xi told Tillerson that there are far more shared interests between the two countries than disputes, emphasizing the need for more communication and coordination on matters involving “regional hotspots,” according to a statement released by the Chinese foreign ministry.
On Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the successful test of a high-thrust engine, state-run Korean Central News Agency reported, saying the event had “historic significance” that could lead to the “new birth” of the country’s indigenous rocket industry.
US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he’d “had meetings on North Korea,” and without mentioning North Korean leader by name said “He is acting very very badly. I will tell you he is acting very badly.”
Tillerson in Asia