The United States is in regular contact with China on North Korea missile launches, a senior administration official said on Friday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th November, 2022) The United States is in regular contact with China on North Korea missile launches, a senior administration official said on Friday.
Earlier in the day, North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan, which fell within Japan's exclusive economic zone. Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said that the missile could have traveled over 15,000 kilometers (9,320 miles) and reached the US if it had been launched on a different trajectory. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday called for convening an emergency session of the UN Security Council to condemn the latest launch by North Korea.
"We are in regular contact with China on this issue, Beijing has a role to play, that is why we are taking it to the UN Security Council," the US official said.
China can use its influence to dissuade North Korea from destabilizing actions, the official added.
The official was briefing journalists on the trip of US Vice President Kamala Harris to Thailand and the Philippines to discuss the US commitment to the Southeast Asia region including the South China Sea, especially on matters related to security and trade.
Harris attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' conference in Bangkok on Friday and will also attend on Saturday, where she is expected to reaffirm US economic leadership in the region and lay out the key principles the Biden administration thinks should guide APEC economies and rally other economies around its rules-based international economic order, the official said.
