The United States called on Pyongyang on Wednesday to "refrain from provocations" and remain committed to nuclear negotiations after North Korea launched a ballistic missile.
"We call on (North Korea) to refrain from provocations, abide by their obligations under U.N. Security Council Resolutions, and remain engaged in substantive and sustained negotiations to do their part to ensure peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and achieve denuclearization," a state department spokeswoman said in a statement to Reuters.
The missile was launched near the city of Wonsan on North Korea’s eastern coast, South Korean military said in a statement. It reached an altitude of 570 miles and fell 280 miles away from the launch point.
The EU denounces missile launch by North Korea as "yet another provocative action", the EU said in a statement.
"We look forward to the resumption of working-level talks between the US and the DPRK and stand ready to support all international efforts for finding a diplomatic solution leading to lasting peace and security on the Korean Peninsula," the EU said.
Earlier in the day, Japan said that North Korea had launched several missiles, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga saying that at least one of the projectiles had landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that two ballistic missiles had been fired, and he slammed the incident as a violation of the UN Security Council's resolutions.
In 2018, US President Donald Trump attended a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, the first top-level contact between the two nations. It was followed by a 2019 summit in Hanoi, which ended after Trump left abruptly, citing unacceptable North Korean demands.
