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| "As a matter of fact, on nearly every single one of them, we issue a statement, and we make it clear that we're condemning these attacks, and we continue to call on the North Korean regime to stop these provocations, which, in many cases, violate existing U.N. Security Council resolutions that the whole international community should be signing up to," Kirby said. (Photo from US Embassy Ukraine Website) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] WASHINGTON: The United States is equally focused on dealing with the threat posed by North Korea just as it is with all other major security issues, U.S. Department of Defense Press Secretary John Kirby said Thursday.
North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday (Seoul time), marking its sixth missile launch since the start of this month. "Just because right now one issue obviously is certainly capturing the attention of the world community doesn't mean that we are not equally pursuing and focused on other threats and challenges to the country," Kirby said in a press briefing. "And certainly, we're mindful of the destabilizing behavior by Pyongyang with respect to these recent tests," he added when asked why the U.S. was not paying more attention to the North Korean missile issue.
Kirby said that’s why the U.S. has called out nearly every missile test by North Korea. A state department spokesperson earlier noted the North had fired six ballistic missiles in five previous missile launches since the start of the year that included the test-firing of two cruise missiles on Tuesday (Seoul time). The North is prohibited from developing or testing any ballistic missile under U.N. Security Council resolutions.
