U.S. pledges to work with China, Russia to put additional pressure on N. Korea

By 임정요

Published : Aug. 4, 2016 - 09:45

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The United States will work closely with China and Russia to put additional pressure on North Korea, the White House said Wednesday, after Pyongyang defiantly fired two ballistic missiles and one of them landed in waters off Japan.

"Our response to North Korea's destabilizing activities is stronger when the international community remains united. So that's why the United States continues to work so closely with our partners at the U.N., with our allies like Japan and South Korea, and with countries like Russia and China," spokesman Josh Earnest said at a regular briefing.

"We continue to be concerned about this, but we continue to place a high priority on our effective coordination with the international community. In order to apply additional pressure on the North Korean government, we're gonna need to work effectively with the Russians and the Chinese to get that done. And that's what we are committed to doing," he said.

(yonhap)

North Korea fired two Rodong intermediate-range ballistic missiles early Wednesday. One of them exploded right after launch, but the other flew some 1,000 kilometers and fell in waters off Japan in the country's exclusive economic zone.

Such launches represent a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban the North from any activity using ballistic missile technology over concern that it can be used to develop long-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner stressed the importance of carrying out existing sanctions.

"I never want to preclude any additional sanctions, but we did pass a very strong sanctions package several months ago," Toner said, referring to the latest U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution adopted in response to the North's fourth nuclear test earlier this year.

He said sanctions are effective only when they are implemented.

"What our focus has been is working with other like-minded partners in the region," he said. "Certainly, that includes China in trying to ensure that. These sanctions are implemented to the full extent possible so that the DPRK, the North Korean regime, feels a squeeze and is encouraged to then engage with the international community and address its concerns about its nuclear program."

Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific Affairs, expressed concern about the North's provocations, saying one of the North's missiles "landed 155 miles off of the coast of Japan."

"North Korea's latest missile launch is representative of its growing capabilities and determination to threaten our allies in the region," Gardner said in a statement, adding President Barack Obama's "strategic patience" policy on the North "allowed the maniac in Pyongyang to continue down his reckless path of belligerence and ramp up its intimidation tactics."

"I'm pleased the administration acted to intensify our defense capabilities through the deployment of THAAD, and I urge the administration to continue implementing my North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act as well as pursue additional military options to counter North Korean aggression," he said. (Yonhap)

U.S. pledges to work with China, Russia to put additional pressure on N. Korea

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