The U.S. special envoy for North Korea Sung Kim has condemned the recent missile launch by North Korea, but reaffirmed Washington's commitment to engage in diplomacy.

According to U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Tuesday, Kim issued the position in phone talks with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts Noh Kyu-duk and Funakoshi Takehiro on Saturday and Sunday.
 
In the talks, the U.S. special representative for North Korea reportedly condemned Pyongyang's ballistic missile launches as violations of UN Security Council resolutions and destabilizing to the region.

Kim also reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and its ironclad commitment to the defense of South Korea and Japan.

In addition, the special representative underscored the United States’ continued readiness to engage in "serious and sustained diplomacy" with North Korea in order to make tangible progress and reiterated the U.S.' commitment to continued close coordination with South Korea and Japan.

The statement comes after North Korea announced on Monday that it test-fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate- and long-range ballistic missile the day before.

[Photo : YONHAP News]