WASHINGTON: The United States envoy for North Korea will travel to Thailand and Japan next week to discuss how to increase pressure on Pyongyang after its latest ballistic missile test, the US State Department says.
North Korea, formally called the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), last week tested its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), saying the device could reach all of the United States.
Joseph Yun, the US special representative for North Korea policy, will travel to Japan and Thailand from tomorrow to Friday 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.
"The United States looks forward to continuing its partnership with both these nations so that the DPRK will return to credible talks on denuclearisation," it added.
Tensions have risen markedly in recent months over North Korea's development, in defiance of repeated rounds of UN sanctions, of nuclear-tipped missiles capable of reaching the United States.
In August, foreign media reported that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had urged the Thai government to do more to cut funding streams to North Korea by cracking down on North Korean front companies using Bangkok as a trading hub.
Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Thornton was quoted as saying the US believes North Korean front companies are active in Thailand and is encouraging Thailand to shut them down.
But Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha insisted that Thailand has adhered to all its obligations set out by the United Nations in its resolution on North Korea.
He said at the time the North Korean situation was a global issue and the UN has gone to great lengths to force the hermit kingdom to abandon its nuclear weapons, a move his government has endorsed.
Last week's missile test prompted a US warning that North Korea's leadership would be "utterly destroyed" if war were to break out. The Pentagon has mounted repeated shows of force after North Korean tests.
The US has sent mixed signals about its interest in talks with the North, with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson saying Washington was pursuing contact but President Trump tweeting that this was a waste of time. Reuters and Bangkok Post
