USA appeals to North Korea/Stop provocations, return to diplomacy

2024-01-25 08:14:46, Kosova & Bota CNA

The United States called on North Korea on Wednesday to refrain from further destabilizing actions and return to the diplomatic framework. Earlier on Wednesday, North Korea launched several self-guided missiles into the sea, west of its coast.

"We view these actions as extremely dangerous," US State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said during a press briefing on Wednesday, without giving a US assessment of North Korea's intentions.

The latest missile tests came just days after Pyongyang tested an intermediate-range missile equipped with a hypersonic warhead in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

"We have no hostile intentions towards North Korea and we continue to be open to diplomacy without conditions," Mr Patel said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sharply criticized South Korea, describing inter-Korean relations as one between "two states hostile to each other".

A large monument in Pyongyang symbolizing the goal of reconciliation with South Korea has been destroyed, according to news reports citing satellite images.

Earlier this month, Mr. Kim called South Korea an "unchangeable archenemy and archenemy," declaring that unification with South Korea was no longer possible.

The stance is seen by some analysts as a departure from North Korea's early goal of reunifying the Korean Peninsula under its control.

Pyongyang also continues to ignore Washington's offers for dialogue and remains opposed to negotiations with Seoul.

US officials have said they are disappointed by North Korea's continued rejection of dialogue and its escalation of hostile rhetoric towards South Korea. The United States said inter-Korean cooperation is vital to achieving lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

"We want to engage in substantive discussions to identify ways to not only manage the military risk, but to create lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, as well as our continued goal of complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Mr. Patel said on Wednesday. .

At the Pentagon, press secretary Major General Patrick Ryder told reporters Tuesday that Washington has been very public in its commitment to work with allies and partners "to deter and help stabilize the security of the region."

The United States, Japan and South Korea have reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. The three countries also call on North Korea to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

North Korea last launched a self-guided missile in September 2023. Two self-guided missiles carrying fake nuclear warheads were then launched toward the Yellow Sea.

The two Koreas have been separated since the end of the Korean War in 1953. They remain technically at war as the Korean War ended with an armistice and not a peace treaty./ VOA