The White House vowed Wednesday to pursue additional pressure on North Korea, condemning the regime's latest test of the Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile as a flagrant violation of its international obligations.

"The United States strongly condemns the provocative actions by the North Korean government that is a flagrant violation of their international obligations," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said at a regular press briefing.

"The impact of these provocations will be to only strengthen the resolve of the international community that has such serious concerns with North Korea's behavior," he said.

While working closely with South Korea and Japan, the U.S. will also "continue our ongoing dialogue with the Chinese and the Russians about what additional pressure can be applied to the North Koreans," Earnest said.

After the North's fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch in February, the U.S. has led the U.N. Security Council to adopt the toughest-ever sanctions on Pyongyang while adopting its own unilateral sanctions against the communist nation.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury Department also designated the North as a "primary money laundering concern," a powerful sanction designed to cut off the provocative regime from the international banking system for defiantly pursuing nuclear and missile development.

The designation means banks around the world could be blacklisted if found to be doing business with Pyongyang. The measure was largely seen as targeting China as the North is believed to be conducting most transactions through the neighboring nation.

"Right now this is probably the most isolated country in the world. Their economy is suffering under withering economic sanctions that are not just imposed by the United States and our allies, Japan and South Korea but also have an impact, a significant impact on their economic relationship with countries like Russia and China," Earnest said.

Abiding by international obligations is the only way for the North to get out of isolation, he said.

"The choice is theirs. It will be a choice that they'll have to make. Until that time, they're going to continue to be isolated. Their economy is going to suffer. And as a result of the decisions made by the North Korean government, unfortunately the people of North Korea will suffer," he said.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. has "at our disposal the ability to unilaterally hold DPRK accountable" but did not elaborate.

At a regular briefing, he also rejected criticism that sanctions don't work, saying it takes time to see the effects of sanctions.

"Obviously we're deeply concerned by these additional launches. That doesn't change the fact that the sanctions that were enacted by UNSCR 2270 are the toughest in two decades, but they're only three months old and sometimes it takes a period of time before you can start to see the affect of sanctions," he said, referring to the latest U.N. Security Council resolution.

Sources said that the U.S could impose additional sanctions on the North over its human rights abuses.

The North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act, enacted in February, calls for the government to submit a specific report on Pyongyang's human rights abuses within 120 days.

Under the law, the State Department could soon announce sanctions blacklisting about 10 North Korean officials for human rights violations, the sources said.

But such designations are expected to be only symbolic as the North is already deeply isolated. (Yonhap)