U.S. State Department calls on China to condemn recent North Korean missile tests

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. State Department calls on China to condemn recent ballistic missile tests by North Korea.

According to State Department Spokesperson Ned Price, on March 10, Special Representative for North Korea, Ambassador Sung Kim, called Chinese Special Representative on Korean Peninsula Affairs, Liu Xiaoming, to discuss the February 26 and March 4 missile launches.

U.S. officials say the tests were for a new intercontinental ballistic missile system.

Sung Kim said, the launches violated United Nations Security Council resolutions, and called upon Chinese officials to join the United States in condemning the missile launches.

In recent weeks, U.S. analysts have said that new work is being done by North Korea at their Punggye-ri nuclear testing site. The site, officials say, has been shut down since 2018. The recent activity has sparked concern that North Korea is continuing its nuclear weapons ambitions.