US President Donald Trump has cancelled the planned June 12 summit with North Korea's Kim Jong-un, citing the "tremendous anger and open hostility" in a recent statement from North Korea.
Mr Trump said in a letter to Mr Kim released by the White House that based on the statement, he felt it was "inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting" which had been due to take place in Singapore.
The president said the North Koreans talk about their nuclear capabilities "but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used".
The decision comes after North Korea claimed it had carried out what it said is the demolition of its nuclear test site, setting off a series of explosions over several hours in the presence of foreign journalists.
The explosions at the site deep in the mountains of the North's sparsely populated north east were centred on three tunnels into the underground site and a number of observation towers in the surrounding area.
The demolition came as the North lobbed another verbal salvo at Washington, calling Vice President Mike Pence a "political dummy" and saying it is just as ready to meet in a nuclear confrontation as at the negotiating table.
The North's decision to close the Punggye-ri nuclear test site has generally been seen as a welcome gesture by Mr Kim.
Even so, it is not an irreversible move and would need to be followed by many more significant measures to meet Mr Trump's demands for real denuclearisation.
By bringing in the foreign media, mainly television networks, the North is apparently hoping to have images of the closing - including explosions to collapse tunnel entrances - broadcast around the world.
The North did not invite international inspectors to the ceremony, which limits its value as a serious concession.
The outburst at Mr Pence, issued in the name of a top Foreign Ministry official, comes on the heels of another sharp rebuke of Mr Trump's newly appointed national security adviser John Bolton.
In both cases, Pyongyang was trying to push back against hard-line comments suggesting North Korea may end up like Libya if it does not move forward quickly and irreversibly with concrete measures to get rid of its nuclear weapons.
Choe Son Hui, a vice minister of foreign affairs, was quoted by the North's state-run news agency slamming as "ignorant" and "stupid" comments Mr Pence made in an interview with Fox News that compared the nuclear-capable North to Libya.
Libya gave up its programme at an early stage only to see its longtime dictator overthrown and brutally killed years later.
The summit plan had hit a number of speed bumps recently as both sides traded barbs and taking tougher positions.
Mr Trump met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday at the White House for consultations and suggested the summit could be delayed or even called off entirely.
Success in talks would have been a huge accomplishment for Mr Trump, while meeting with the US President as an equal on the world stage would be a major coup for Mr Kim.
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