North Korea readies another nuclear test

North Korea has said it will continue testing nuclear weapons in the face of what it sees as provocation from the U.S.

On Monday, Pyongyang declared that it was ready to conduct its sixth nuclear test whenever leadership deemed appropriate, as the North Korean capital continues trading shows of force with Washington, the Sputnik reported.

U.S. President Donald Trump earlier on Friday condemned the ballistic missile launched by North Korea, saying that it has disrespected the wishes of China.

"North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!" Trump tweeted.

Trump has been pressuring China to be more aggressive in its approach to the North Korean issue, though he described Chinese President Xi Jinping as "a fantastic person."

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi responded bluntly to this sentiment at a recent UN Security Council meeting, saying, "The key to solving the nuclear issue on the peninsula does not lie in the hands of the Chinese side . It is necessary to put aside the debate over who should take the first step and stop arguing who is right and who is wrong."

Wang added, "Now is the time to seriously consider resuming talks."

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who chaired the meeting, flatly rebuffed these remarks, saying the US "will not negotiate our way back to the negotiating table with North Korea, we will not reward their violations of past resolutions, we will not reward their bad behavior with talks.