“If North Korea conducts its seventh nuclear test, it will cause a serious escalation of tension,” Vedant Patel, senior deputy spokesperson for the State Department, said in a briefing on the 26th local time, “he said.
“I will not go into detail on the various instruments that hold North Korea accountable,” Patel said.
“This shows that we continue to have the tools we will use to hold North Korea accountable,” he said, referring to the joint military exercises of South Korea, the United States and Japan and the additional sanctions imposed by the United States in relation to a series recent provocations, including the launch of a ballistic missile by North Korea ”.
“We will continue to work closely with our allies and partners,” he added.
Previously, the United States sent the Ronald Reagan nuclear aircraft carrier to the East Sea and sent a warning sound while conducting military exercises with South Korea and Japan.
On the 7th, the United States also imposed sanctions on two individuals and three companies involved in oil exports to North Korea.
Patel’s remarks are interpreted to make it clear that if North Korea does not stop further provocations such as nuclear tests, it will continue to receive strong military responses and additional sanctions.