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| U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken gestures during a press conference with Chilean Foreign Minister Antonia Urrejola in Santiago, Chile, Oct. 5. AP-Yonhap |
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged North Korea to engage in dialogue on Wednesday, saying its provocative actions will only lead to increased condemnation and isolation.
The top U.S. diplomat said the North will also face increased repercussions from the international community if they continue to take such actions.
"We believe that North Korea would be much better served by not only refraining from these actions, but actually engaging in dialogue," Blinken said in a joint press briefing with his Chilean counterpart in Santiago.
"I think what we are seeing is that if they continue down this road, it will only increase the condemnation, increase the isolation, increase the steps that are taken in response to their actions," he added.
The North fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile on Tuesday (Seoul time), marking its fifth missile test in just over a week.
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Blinken said the U.S. has called for a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, adding, "and we are consulting with our partners on next steps."
"We called on the DPRK to refrain from further provocations and engage in a sustained substantive dialogue," he said of his calls with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts held immediately after the North's missile launch this week.
"This is something that we have proposed going back many months. Unfortunately, the DPRK's response has been to launch more missiles, but we are taking appropriate defense and deterrence steps with allies and partners," he added.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.
"I also want to make very clear that our commitment to the defense of our allies and partners ― ROK and Japan ― is ironclad," said Blinken, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea. (Yonhap)
