U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on Tuesday there would be a strong and clear response from the United States, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the world if Pyongyang were to conduct a nuclear test.

"Any nuclear test would be in complete violation of UN Security Council resolutions (and) there would be a swift and forceful response to such a test ... I believe that not only ROK and United States and Japan but the entire world will respond in a strong and clear manner," she told media at a news conference after talks with her Republic of Korea counterpart, Cho Hyun-dong, in Seoul. 

"We are prepared," she said. "We will continue our trilateral discussion (with ROK and Japan) tomorrow."

Her remarks come after ROK and U.S. forces fired eight surface-to-surface missiles early on Monday off the ROK's east coast in response to a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles launched by the DPRK on Sunday. 

(With input from Reuters)

(Cover: U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman speaks to media after a meeting with the ROK's First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, ROK, June 7, 2022. /Reuters)