The White House says that the United States cannot help but maintain its pressure on North Korea as long as the North continues to reject dialogue.

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan made the remarks to reporters on Thursday aboard Air Force One en route to South Korea for the first leg of U.S. President Joe Biden's tour of Asia. Biden is set to arrive in South Korea on Friday afternoon.

Sullivan told reporters that since the launch of the Biden administration, Washington has extended proposals to initiate dialogue with North Korea through various channels, but has yet to receive any reply.

The top national security adviser said the U.S. has made various offers to the North, including an action-for-action method of reciprocal good will, to make progress toward the ultimate goal of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Sullivan said the North, however, has not displayed any indication of willingness to engage in meaningful or constructive diplomacy.

He added that as long as the North continues to reject dialogue, the U.S. will continue to exert pressure on the obstinate state, while coordinating closely with its allies and responding to provocations with clarity and decisiveness.

Sullivan stressed that if the North stages additional provocations during Biden's Asia tour, the U.S. and its allies will deliver a stern response.