WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States needs to put as much pressure on North Korea as possible in the hope of getting the country to stop its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a press briefing on Tuesday.
"We’ve been clear about what our priorities are, that now is not the time for us to spend a lot of time focused on talking with North Korea, but putting all measures of pressure that we can and we’re going to continue through that process," Sanders stated.
Sanders also said that the rest of the world, including Russia and China, must do more to address the North Korea threat.
Commenting on North Korean Sunday's nuclear test, US President Donald Trump said Pyongyang's actions are "hostile and dangerous," emphasizing that the "talk of appeasement" would not work. He also reaffirmed the US readiness to protect the US and its allies by "using the full range of diplomatic, conventional, and nuclear capabilities at our disposal."
Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told US State Secretary Rex Tillerson in a phone conversation that Russia is ready to consider a draft UN Security Council resolution on North Korea under certain conditions.
As tensions on the Korean Peninsula have further escalated this summer, Russia and China proposed the "double freeze" plan to settle the situation on the Korean Peninsula, urging North Korea to stop nuclear tests, while calling on the US and South Korea to refrain from joint drills. The US has already rejected the peace plan.
