North Korea announced on Thursday that it had test-fired a new type of tactical guided weapon, in its first public weapons test since February’s failed summit with the US in Hanoi.

Shortly after the test, North Korea demanded that Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, be removed from nuclear disarmament talks in another sign of deteriorating diplomatic relations with Washington since the failure of their second summit in Hanoi in February.

Pyongyang wanted a replacement for Mr Pompeo who would be “more careful and mature,” the North’s state media reported on Thursday, accusing the senior US official of undermining negotiations.

Adding to the stand-off, the Kremlin yesterday announced that Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un later this month, an apparent attempt to insert Russia into the delicate talks.

The firing of the unspecified weapon, which was personally overseen by Kim from an observation post, was a possible attempt to express dissatisfaction with Washington’s refusal to budge over sanctions, without jeopardising the future of the currently deadlocked diplomatic talks.

It is not believed to have been a banned ballistic missile test, a provocative move which could have torpedoed negotiations with South Korea and the US over North Korea’s disarmament.