US envoy for DPRK affairs travels to Japan, Thailand

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The US envoy for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will travel to Japan and Thailand next week to discuss how to increase pressure on Pyongyang after its latest ballistic missile test, the US State Department said on Friday.

The DPRK last week tested its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), saying the device could reach all of the US.

Joseph Yun, the US special representative for DPRK policy, will travel to Japan and Thailand Dec. 11-15 to meet government officials "to discuss ways to strengthen the pressure campaign following the DPRK's latest ballistic missile test," the State Department said in a brief written statement.

File photo of Joseph Yun /AP Photo

"The United States looks forward to continuing its partnership with both these nations so that the DPRK will return to credible talks on denuclearization," it added.

Tensions have risen markedly in recent months over DPRK's development, in defiance of repeated rounds of UN sanctions, of nuclear-tipped missiles capable of reaching the United States.

Last week's missile test prompted a US warning that DPRK's leadership would be "utterly destroyed" if war were to break out. The Pentagon has mounted repeated shows of force after DPRK's tests.

The US has sent mixed signals about its interest in talks with the DPRK, with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson saying that Washington was pursuing such contacts but President Trump tweeting that this was a waste of time.

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Source(s): Reuters