US warns of 'options' over N Korea nuclear, missile tests
The United States has warned that it would consider using other “options” if North Korea continued nuclear and missile testing.
“I think it's pretty clear that as North Korea continues to make decisions that we believe are counterproductive, that we've got to also continually look at what our options are in terms of response,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said at a briefing on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
Toner said the past steps against North Korea included sanctions and security measures but declined to elaborate on other options under consideration.
“We don't want to announce anything before it's been fully formed and fully vetted,” he said.
South Korea’s president said Tuesday that the North is in final stages of preparations to conduct a fifth nuclear test as the country has reportedly placed a new mid-range missile on standby. The South Korean military has also said Pyongyang is technically ready for a nuclear test.
South Korea and the US are concerned that a new nuclear test could take the North a step closer toward manufacturing a warhead small enough to place on a long-range missile.
President Barack Obama said Tuesday the United States was positioning missile systems and setting up a shield to defend itself and its allies against North Korea, which he called an “erratic” country with an “irresponsible” leader.
Pyongyang announced over the weekend that it had launched a ballistic missile from a submarine, which the United States quickly dismissed as a “catastrophic” failure.
Meanwhile, the North Korean foreign minister proposed that his country was ready to halt its nuclear tests if the US abandons its military exercises in the region. The US rejected the offer.
North Korea tested its fourth nuclear bomb on January 6 and launched a long-range rocket on February 7, prompting a significant tightening in United Nations and US sanctions. Pyongyang has indicated that it needs a “powerful nuclear deterrence” to counter US threats.
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