[앵커]
The U.S. Department of Defense has said it takes North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile threat “very seriously”.
A senior US official has hinted that further action will be taken in the near future.
Correspondent Lee Jong-soo.
[기자]
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, “We expect North Korea to continue to advance its capabilities in ICBM range and accuracy,” and “takes that threat very seriously.”
We will present a briefing on North Korea’s recent suggestion of suspending nuclear tests and ICBM test launches.
“We want to see the complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” Kirby said.
A senior Biden administration official suggested the possibility of additional measures against North Korea at a briefing immediately after the US-Japan summit held via videoconference on the 21st local time.
The official said he was closely following developments in North Korea and said the administration would have something to say in the next few days.
The US’s follow-up measures against North Korea are noteworthy as it hinted at the possibility of further measures such as raising the level of warning that had been issued so far or taking new sanctions against North Korea.
The United States, along with seven Western countries, urged additional sanctions on North Korea, even after UN Security Council sanctions following North Korea’s recent missile launch were canceled due to China and Russia’s deterrence.
[린다 토마스-그린필드 /미국 유엔대사 : 북한 체제가 무기 프로그램을 진전시키고 있는데 따른
안보리 회원국들의 필요한 제재 조치가 매우 중요합니다. 그렇지 않으면 대북 견제에 공백이 생기는 위험을 감수해야 합니다.]
An expert on the Korean Peninsula in the United States predicted that Kim Jong-un would launch more test launches to gain the upper hand in the nuclear negotiations.
Robert Manning, a senior researcher at the think tank Atlantic Council, argued that North Korea’s recent provocations and hints of suspending nuclear tests and ICBM test launches could be a stepping stone for a new start with the next South Korean president as a result of refusal to declare an end to the war.”
In the midst of this, former commander Curtis Scaperotti, who served as the commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces from 2013 to 2016, is said to have said that in the past, the two countries were preparing for a preemptive strike against North Korea.
It is known that former commander Scaparrotti emphasized that “the preemptive strike against North Korea was not advanced out of urgency,” but emphasized that it should not be stopped.
This is YTN Lee Jong-soo.
YTN Jongsoo Lee (jslee@ytn.co.kr)
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