The United States remains ready to engage with North Korea toward ridding the country of its nuclear weapons, a White House spokeswoman said Monday, after Pyongyang announced it has successfully test-fired new long-range cruise missiles.
"Our position has not changed when it comes to North Korea," Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, adding that Washington will explore diplomacy with Pyongyang to make "practical progress" that would increase the security of the United States and its allies.
The official Korean Central News Agency reported Monday that the newly developed long-range cruise missiles, which were launched over the weekend, showed they can hit targets 1,500 kilometers away, a range that would include almost all of the Japanese archipelago.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command has acknowledged that the activity highlights North Korea's "continuing focus on developing its military program and the threats that poses to its neighbors and the international community."
Jean-Pierre, however, said the United States remains "prepared to engage" with North Korea toward the objective of the "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."
Noting that the United States has offered to meet "anywhere, anytime without preconditions," she emphasized that U.S. diplomatic efforts will not change.
Talks with the United States over denuclearization and sanctions relief have been stalled for around two years.
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