US Says North Korean Missile Test Violates UN Resolutions

By Lisa Ferdinando

North Korea continues to engage in provocative actions, and it poses a “significant threat” to the United States and its allies, the Pentagon’s press secretary said Monday.

The United States is still assessing the test North Korea carried out over the weekend, Peter Cook told reporters at the Pentagon in response to a question about Pyongyang’s latest reported ballistic missile launch.

“Regardless of exactly what took place, we know already that this was a violation of U.N. resolutions,” he said. “This is an action that again we condemn.”

‘A Significant Concern’

He said North Korea’s pursuit of ballistic missile and nuclear weapons capabilities “continues to pose a significant threat to the United States, to our allies in the region and remains, obviously, a significant concern.”

Cook said he did not have details on the test itself, other than it is “another provocative act” by the North Koreans. It does “nothing to promote stability” on the Korean Peninsula, he added.

“It’s just the latest in a series of steps they’ve taken that we think have been counterproductive — and certainly nothing that they have been doing in recent weeks is going to add to stability in the region,” Cook said.