U.S. condemns N. Korean missile launch, urges Pyongyang to engage in dialogue
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) -- The United States condemns North Korea's latest missile launch but remains open to dialogue, a state department spokesperson said Wednesday.
The remarks come hours after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea.
"The United States condemns the DPRK's ballistic missile launches," the spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency in an email, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"These launches are in violation of multiple United Nations Security Council Resolutions and poses a threat to the DPRK's neighbors and the international community," the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The North's latest missile launches came as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is on a visit to Japan and set to travel to South Korea on Thursday. Pyongyang also fired a ballistic missile on Sunday (Seoul time).
The state department spokesperson declined to comment when asked if the North's missile provocations may affect the vice president's trip to the region.
Harris is scheduled to visit the Demilitarized Zone during her visit, U.S. officials have said.
The department spokesperson urged the North to return to the dialogue table, saying, "We remain committed to a diplomatic approach to the DPRK and call on the DPRK to engage in dialogue."
"Our commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea and Japan remains ironclad," the official added.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
-
(Movie Review) 'Troll Factory' navigates blurred line between fake, real with anticlimactic finale
-
Police officer admits to leaking investigation report into late actor Lee Sun-kyun
-
'Parasyte: The Grey' adapts Japanese alien invasion manga to Korean setting
-
S. Korea, U.S. launch task force to block N. Korea's nuclear, missile programs
-
N. Korean leader sends condolences to Putin over Russian concert hall shooting
-
(Movie Review) 'Troll Factory' navigates blurred line between fake, real with anticlimactic finale
-
'Parasyte: The Grey' adapts Japanese alien invasion manga to Korean setting
-
Police officer admits to leaking investigation report into late actor Lee Sun-kyun
-
Congenital diseases of children born from mothers working at Samsung recognized as industrial accidents
-
N. Korean leader sends condolences to Putin over Russian concert hall shooting
-
S. Korea, U.S. launch task force to block N. Korea's nuclear, missile programs
-
Unification minister slams N. Korea's abduction, detention of S. Koreans as inhumane
-
(LEAD) S. Korea, U.S. launch task force to block N. Korea's nuclear, missile programs
-
Major hospitals in emergency mode amid huge losses over doctors' walkout
-
(LEAD) Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays