The White House said Friday it’s confident that North Korea’s recent wave of missile testing doesn’t pose a threat to the United States.
“The assessment of the president’s military commanders is that we do have the capabilities necessary to protect the United States,” Josh Earnest told reporters. He spoke less than a day after North Korea launched an unsuccessful missile test on Thursday, which was aimed at demonstrating that its rockets can reach U.S. facilities in the region.
Earnest nonetheless condemned the test, the latest in a string of incidents violating numerous United Nations resolutions.
“As we’ve done before, the United States strongly condemns this provocative act by the North Korean government,” Earnest said.
He also warned that even more sanctions could be slapped against Kim Jong-un’s isolated regime.
“But we obviously continue to work with the international community to make clear that North Korea faces the prospect of even further isolation as a result of their provocative acts,” Earnest said.
“The United States is strongly committed to the defense of our allies, particularly our allies in Asia, that includes the Republic of Korea and Japan,” he added. “We’re going to continue to stand with them as they face these threats but also reiterate our commitment to the defense of our allies.”
