(Washington) North Korea probably wants to “attract the attention” of the international community by stepping up missile fire, said US diplomat Antony Blinken on Thursday.
Posted at 12:18
These tests, including two since last week, are “deeply destabilizing”, “dangerous” and “contrary” to UN Security Council resolutions, lamented the Secretary of State on the MSNBC channel.
“I think part of it has to do with North Korea’s willingness to try to get attention. She has done this in the past, and she will probably continue, ”he added.
In the aftermath of new US sanctions against people linked to the reclusive country’s arms program, he said the United States was determined, along with its allies, to ensure that there were “repercussions, consequences for the country. these acts of North Korea ”.
“A few months ago, we clearly said that we were ready to dialogue with the North Koreans”, “without preconditions”, to negotiate a “total denuclearization of the Korean peninsula”, recalled Antony Blinken. “We made it clear that we had no hostile intentions”, but the “only answer has been, in recent weeks, in the form of these missile tests”, he still regretted.
Diplomacy has been deadlocked on the North Korean nuclear dossier since the failure of the historic 2018-19 summits between then-US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong UN.
Pyongyang has resumed ballistic missile testing in recent months, with six hits since September.