Washington – The U.S. State Department has warned that it will consider other options if Pyongyang continues its nuclear and ballistic missile tests.
“We call on North Korea to refrain from actions that further destabilise the region and focus on what it needs to do.
“This include taking concrete steps toward fulfilling its commitments and its obligations to denuclearise,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
He warned that Washington will look at other options as we move forward if North Korea continues with this kind of behaviour.
However, Toner declined to specify the options the U.S. is considering.
He said that Washington wants to ensure the security and safety of its allies and protect the peninsula, but also to make every effort to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table.
White House spokesman, Josh Earnest, had issued a similar warning on Tuesday, saying “we are going to continue to ramp up the pressure on North Korean regime’’.
He said that Pyongyang must choose to rejoin the international community by committing to denuclearise the Korean Peninsula and come into compliance with their international obligations.
In an interview aired on Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama has described the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as a massive challenge.
He defended the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence missile system on the Korean Peninsula.
“So that even as we try to resolve the underlying problem of nuclear development inside of North Korea, we’re also setting up a shield that can at least block the relatively low-level threats that they’re posing right now.’’
China and Russia are opposed to the possible deployment of the missile system, which they believe will create a real threat to their security and the stability in Northeast Asia. (Xinhua/NAN)