U.S. President Barack Obama said here on Saturday that there should be a new and stronger response to the recent nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
At a joint press conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy before the commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the D-Day in Normandy, Obama indicated that the DPRK's recent actions have been testing the limit of his patience.
"North Korea's actions over the last couple of months have been extraordinarily provocative," he said. "They have made no bones about the fact that they are testing nuclear weapons, testing missiles that would potentially have intercontinental capacity."
"Diplomacy has to involve the other side engaging in a serious way in trying to solve problems, and we have not seen that kind of reaction from North Korea," he added.
According to the U.S. president, the UN Security Council is working toward a new approach toward the DPRK. "We are going to take a very hard look at how we move toward," he said. "I don't think there will be an assumption that we will simply continue down the path in which North Korea is constantly destabilizing the region and we just react in the same ways."
"We are not intending to continue a policy of rewarding provocation," he stressed.
(Xinhua News Agency June 7, 2009)
