North Korea must go back to a “diplomatic course”, the pinnacle US envoy for the country stated Monday, following Pyongyang’s blitz of missile launches and growing signs it’s miles resuming nuclear trying out.

North Korea has completed more than a dozen guns tests to this point this yr, the contemporary one over the weekend — a brief-variety check that state media claimed would beautify the “efficiency within the operation of tactical nukes”.

US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim arrived in Seoul for a five-day go on Monday and met his South Korean counterpart Noh Kyu-duk.

After talks, the two envoys jointly condemned “recent escalatory actions” by Pyongyang, including what they said were “at least three” launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

“We agreed on the need for a strong response to the destabilizing behavior we have been from the DPRK,” Kim told reporters, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name.

“We also discussed how to respond to future DPRK actions, including a possible nuclear test,” he added.

Kim reiterated that the United States has offered to meet Pyongyang “anywhere without any preconditions”, saying that Washington has not “closed the door on diplomacy”.

“I once again call on Pyongyang to pursue a diplomatic path with us,” Kim said. “I want to make clear that we have no hostile intent towards the DPRK.”

Pyongyang has so far rebuffed offers of talks, blaming Washington’s hostile policies.

Kim’s visit comes as Seoul and Washington kicked off a nine-day annual joint military drill. Such exercises have always infuriated Pyongyang, which calls them a rehearsal for war.

The allies regularly stage military exercises, but they have been scaled back in recent years as outgoing President Moon Jae-in made efforts to facilitate nuclear talks with North Korea.

“This training is a defensive command post-training using computer simulation, and there is no real military maneuver training,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Sunday.

North Korea had paused lengthy-variety and nuclear tests whilst leader Kim Jong Un met then-US President Donald Trump for approximately doomed international relations, which collapsed in 2019. Talks have on the grounds that stalled.

But last month Pyongyang take a look at-fired an ICBM at the overall variety for the first time for the reason that 2017.

Recent symptoms of a new pastime at North Korea’s key nuclear checking out website online have additionally raised worries over the viable resumption of nuclear trying out.

South Korean officials have stated Pyongyang could stage a military parade or carry out a weapons test on or around April 25, the anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army.