U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Thursday that the United States is preparing more sanctions against North Korea after it stepped up its missile launches into the Sea of Japan in recent weeks.
«Since North Korea behaves in this way, we are constantly thinking about how to intervene in Pyongyang and how to ensure national security (…) In responding, we will increase sanctions against North Korea,» said the U.S. official in statements reported by Yonhap.
During a forum in Seoul co-sponsored by the South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Sullivan assured that the United States wants to continue to increase the cost of «North Korea’s provocations».
«In particular, we are working together with our partners around the world to effectively enforce UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea. The policy on Pyongyang will continue in this direction. Ultimately, we will exert diplomatic pressure on North Korea and strive for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,» he added.
As to whether the United States is considering the redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula, Sullivan preferred not to comment on the matter, although he said he expects to strengthen his country’s extended deterrence due to the security situation.
«With regard to the extended deterrence, the leaders of the two countries (South Korea and the United States) will take various steps to move the U.S. extended deterrence in the region in a direction that can meet South Korea’s diverse needs,» he said.
