WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th January, 2022) The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Tuesday that it briefly halted flights at some airports on the United States' West Coast and is currently reviewing the matter.
"As a matter of precaution, the FAA temporarily paused departures at some airports along the West Coast on Monday evening," an agency spokesperson said. "Full operations resumed in less than 15 minutes. The FAA regularly takes precautionary measures. We are reviewing the process around this ground stop as we do after all such events."
The FAA halted the flights around on Monday around the same time when North Korea test-fired a hypersonic missile toward the Sea of Japan. The launch came less than a week after North Korea conducted its first missile test in 2022.
On Tuesday, US State Department spokesperson Ned price said the launch did not pose an immediate threat to US personnel, territory, or to its allies, but added that North Korea's weapons program has a destabilizing impact.
"It violates multiple UN Security Council resolutions, it poses a threat to the DPRK's (North Korea) neighbors and the broader international community," Price said.
The State department spokesperson also said Washington continues to call on Pyongyang to refrain from further provocations and engage in substantive dialogue.
"We continue to believe that diplomacy is the best path forward, and we're going to continue to plot out that course with our allies... and we will be ready if the DPRK (North Korea) demonstrates that it is willing to engage," Price added.
