U.S. seeking diplomacy, other measures against N. Korea's missile launches: state department

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (Yonhap) -- The United States stated Monday that it is trying to find a diplomatic means to address the North Korea problem and also pushing for "different steps" to hold the country responsible for its recent series of ballistic missile launches.

"But even as we seek to find ways to address this challenge diplomatically we're moving forward with different steps to hold the DPRK responsible and accountable," Ned Price, spokesperson for the State Department, said during a regular press briefing, using the acronym for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

He was responding to a question about a string of missile launches by Pyongyang this month.

On Sunday, It fired an "intermediate-and long-range" ballistic missile" toward the East Sea, the seventh round of missile testing in January.

"Of course the DPRK's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons program, this is a challenge that is long standing," the official added. "It is a challenge that has vexed successive administrations. We have developed an approach that at its center seeks to find a diplomatic means by which to achieve the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

He also cited the Joe Biden administration's own sanctions on eight North Korean individuals and entities supporting the Kim Jong-un regime's major weapons programs.

"We are continuing to discuss this challenge in the U.N. as well," he said.
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