Embassy of the United States

South Koreans read special news editions on the attack on Yeonpyeong. The White House described North Korea's actions as "outrageous."

12 February 2013 North Korean Announcement of Nuclear Test Remarks to the media by UN Ambassador Susan Rice during a UN Security Council stakeout.

28 January 2013 More U.S. Sanctions Target North Korean Weapons Proliferation    The United States has designated a Hong Kong–based company, two North Korean bank officials, North Korea's space agency and several space officials in response to U.N. Security Council Resolution 2087, which was unanimously adopted on in the wake of Pyongyang’s launch of a rocket using ballistic missile technology on December 12.   These sanctions target North Korea's efforts to fund its nuclear and ballistic missile activities and enable the United States to implement Resolution 2087 domestically.

23 January 2013 USUN Fact Sheet on UNSC Response to North Korea's Launch  In response to North Korea's December 12 launch, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2087 to condemn the launch and impose new sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans on critical North Korean companies and officials. Additionally, Resolution 2087 strengthens and expands the scope of existing sanctions, making them more effective and far-reaching.

 2012

01 December 2012 State Dept. on North Korean Announcement of "Satellite" Launch "A North Korean "satellite" launch would be a highly provocative act that threatens peace and security in the region. Any North Korean launch using ballistic missile technology is in direct violation of UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) 1718 and 1874."

02 May 2012 USUN Fact Sheet on New North Korea Sanctions  The DPRK Sanctions Committee impose new sanctions and tightens enforcement of existing sanctions on North Korea.  The decision had three principal components: identifying new North Korean companies for sanctions, updating information on the Committee's lists of prohibited nuclear and ballistic missile technology and updating the Committee's annual work plan.

02 May 2012 State Dept. on Human Rights Abuses in North Korea   Taken question at State Department daily press brief.

16 April 2012 Assistant Secretary Campbell's Remarks on Korean Peninsula  "Specifically, on North Korea: We remain committed to closely coordinating and cooperating on potential next steps on North Korea. We agree that even though the launch was a failure, it was a provocative action that threatens international security, violates the DPRK's obligations under UN Security Council resolutions, and contravenes its own recent commitments."

13 April 2012 U.S., International Partners Condemn North Korea's Missile Launch  The United States and its international partners are condemning North Korea’s attempted missile launch as a threat to regional security and a violation of international law.  Even though the launch failed, Carney said the United States “remains vigilant in the face of North Korean provocations and is fully committed to the security of our allies in the region.”

16 March 2012 North Korean Announcement of Missile Launch  North Korea’s announcement that it plans to conduct a missile launch in direct violation of its international obligations is highly provocative. UN Security Council Resolutions 1718 and 1874 clearly and unequivocally prohibit North Korea from conducting launches that use ballistic missile technology.

09 March 2012 Clinton: U.S. Consulting Closely with Seoul on North Korea  Secretary of State Clinton says the United States and the Republic of Korea will continue to closely consult with each other on developments related to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (also known as North Korea).    Speaking with Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan at the State Department, Clinton said the U.S.-ROK alliance is “a linchpin of America's strategic engagement in the Asia Pacific.”

29 February 2012 Briefing by Administration Officials on North Korea "We would like to see IAEA monitors get back in country to Yongbyon to get eyes on both the uranium and plutonium aspects of the program at Yongbyon as soon as possible.  It’s up to the North to do the first reach-out to Director General Amano and the safeguards folks in Vienna".
 • State Department on U.S.–North Korea Bilateral Talks

23 February 2012 U.S. Special Representative Davies on Talks with North Korea Davies described the talks as "substantive and serious."

2011

19 December 2011 The Passing of National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong Il   With the passing of National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong Il, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is now in a period of national mourning.  We are deeply concerned with the well being of the North Korean people and our thoughts and prayers are with them during these difficult times.

13 October 2011 Obama: U.S. Commitment to South Korea “Will Never Waver”  President Obama reaffirmed the strong alliance between the United States and South Korea and said both countries are “entirely united” in their efforts to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

24 June 2011 Clinton Says North Korea Needs to Address Concerns over Food Aid   Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. will base its decision on whether to provide North Korea with food assistance on the country’s relative needs and the ability to ensure that any assistance would reach the North Koreans who need it.  Speaking with South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan in Washington, Clinton said the Obama administration is "deeply concerned about the well-being of the North Korean people," of which 25 percent reportedly are in need of food aid.

01 March 2011 North Korea’s Activities at "Center" of U.S.-China Relationship  Senior State Department officials say China and the United States share the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula and that both countries will need to work together and with partners in East Asia to resolve North Korea’s status as a nuclear weapons state.

13 January 2011 Gates Urges Support for Peace on Korean Peninsula  Peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula are in the common interest of China, Japan, South Korea and the United States, Defense Secretary Robert Gates says.  “This requires that [North Korea] cease its belligerent behavior and its provocations that have killed innocent victims, both military and civilian, in Korea,” Gates said at a January 13 press conference in Tokyo with Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa. Gates is meeting with political and defense leaders in China, Japan and South Korea during a five-day mission across Northeast Asia.

08 December 2010 Steinberg Leads U.S. Delegation to China for North Korea Talks  Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, the second-highest-ranking U.S. diplomat, is leading a high-level team of officials to Beijing for talks with senior Chinese officials about Northeast Asian security and recent hostile acts by North Korea, the State Department announced December 7.

06 December 2010 Statement by Japan, South Korea, United States on North Korea  Text of a trilateral statement by Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States after their meeting in Washington, D.C

06 December 2010 North Korean Actions Prompt U.S., South Korean, Japanese Unity  Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara and South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan jointly declared that recent North Korean actions have jeopardized peace and stability in Asia.

01 December 2010 U.S., Japan, South Korea to Discuss North Korean Actions   Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will host the foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan in Washington for discussions concerning recent North Korean activities and their impact on regional security, says Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip J. Crowley.

29 November 2010 U.N. Sanctions Against North Korea Should Be Tightened  The Obama administration called on the United Nations Security Council to tighten the enforcement of U.N. sanctions against North Korea following recent reports that Pyongyang has acquired centrifuges capable of enriching uranium to make nuclear weapons, and says North Korea’s November 23 attack against South Korea has heightened U.S. concerns over its nuclear activities.

24 November 2010 North Korea Needs to Hear Unified Condemnation of Attack  The Obama administration says China and other countries need to join the United States in sending "a clear, direct, unified message" to North Korea's leadership that provocations such as the November 23 artillery attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong are "unwarranted, unhelpful and should cease," according to State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley.

23 November 2010 U.S. Condemns "Outrageous" North Korean Attack  North Korea's artillery attack on a South Korean island is an outrageous act, and the United States is working with other countries in the region to develop a "measured and unified response," U.S. officials said.  Speaking to reporters en route to Kokomo, Indiana, where President Obama made remarks on the U.S. economy, deputy White House press secretary Bill Burton said Obama “is outraged by these actions.”
 • White House on North Korean Shelling of South Korean Island
 • Briefing by Ambassador Bosworth on North Korea

22 November 2010 North Korean Enrichment Would Violate Commitments, U.S. Says  If true, North Korea's claim to have centrifuges for the production of enriched uranium would violate that country's claims that it is committed to eliminating nuclear weapons and would reinforce longstanding international concerns over its nuclear activities, U.S. officials say.

11 November 2010 North Korea Must Show Seriousness for Talks to Resume  North Korea must show "a seriousness of purpose" before nuclear disarmament talks can resume, President Obama says.  If the North Korean regime is prepared to take that step and is willing to completely abandon a nuclear weapons and long-range missile development program, then the international community is prepared to offer substantial economic assistance, Obama said.

01 September 2010 United States Imposes New Sanctions on North Korea  The United States broadened financial sanctions against North Korea to block the U.S. assets of entities that trade in conventional arms, luxury goods and counterfeit currency or engage in money laundering, drug smuggling and other “illicit economic activities” that enrich the highest levels of the regime of Kim Jong-il, the U.S. Treasury says.

21 July 2010 Clinton Announces New Sanctions Against North Korea   The United States will strengthen existing economic sanctions and impose new restrictions against North Korea over its nuclear weapons program and its recent unnecessarily provocative actions, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says.

09 July 2010 U.N. Security Council Condemns Attack on South Korean Navy Vessel  Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton welcomed the U.N. Security Council’s unanimous condemnation of the attack on the South Korean navy vessel Cheonan, saying it sends the message that attacks on the Republic of Korea "are unacceptable," and that North Korea must uphold the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement.

02 June 2010 North Korea Persists in 59-Year-Old Disinformation  It is the disinformation story that refuses to die. North Korea persists, after 59 years of futile efforts, in trying to convince the world that the United States used chemical and biological weapons during the Korean War. The North Korean claims are false, and documents discovered in the Soviet archives in the 1990s reveal that the Soviets knew the charges were fraudulent as long ago as 1953.

26 May 2010 Briefing by Clinton, South Korean Foreign Minister Yu in Seoul  Secretary Clinton expresses U.S. solidarity with, and support for, the people of South Korea.

24 May 2010 White House Statement Endorses President Lee’s demand for North Korea’s Apology  President Obama fully supports President Lee in his handling of the ROKS Cheonan incident and the objective investigation that followed. The measures that the government of the Republic of Korea announced today are called for and entirely appropriate. The Republic of Korea can continue to count on the full support of the United States, as President Obama has made clear.

04 May 2010 Iran, North Korea Criticized for Violating Nuclear Commitments  Countries at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference in New York must use the monthlong gathering not only to strengthen efforts toward disarmament and expanded use of peaceful nuclear energy, but also to send a strong message to violators such as Iran and North Korea that “they will pay a high price for breaking the rules,” said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

11 January 2010 Resumption of Six-Party Talks Must Precede Korean Peace Treaty  The Obama administration is willing to discuss a peace treaty to formally end the 1950–53 Korean conflict, but says North Korea first must return to multilateral talks to discuss its nuclear activities and take “affirmative steps” toward dismantling its nuclear program. When that happens, the agenda of the discussions can be expanded, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P.J. Crowley told reporters.

16 December 2009 Bosworth Told North Koreans Benefits of Ending Nuclear Programs  Washington — U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Ambassador Stephen Bosworth used his discussions with North Korean officials as an opportunity to present a vision of an improved bilateral relationship, as well as better relationships with its neighbors, if they agree to abandon its nuclear programs.

14 December 2009 Seizure of North Korean Arms Cargo Shows Strength of Sanctions  Thailand will hold the crew of a cargo plane in prison while investigating their role in smuggling weapons from North Korea. Regional experts say the seizure reflects the firmness of international sanctions against the North.

10 December 2009 Ambassador Bosworth Reports “Very Useful” Meetings in North Korea  The Obama administration’s special representative for North Korea policy said his talks with North Korean officials in Pyongyang, the first high-level meeting between the two countries in more than a year, had been “very useful,” and the two countries share a “common understanding” on the need to implement a 2005 agreement aimed at abandoning nuclear programs on the Korean Peninsula and to resume multilateral talks.

08 December 2009 United States Officials Gauging North Korean Willingness to Talk  U.S. officials have arrived in North Korea for the first time in more than a year to ascertain whether Pyongyang is willing to return to multilateral talks over its nuclear activities and to reaffirm its 2005 commitment to abandon nuclear weapons.

19 November 2009 End Distractions and Take Serious Steps, Obama Tells North Korea  The door is open to peacefully resolve the issue of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and allow it to become more integrated with the international community, President Obama says. But Pyongyang must take concrete action and work with its partners in the Six-Party Talks to make progress on the core issues of the discussions.

11 September 2009 United States Willing to Meet Bilaterally with North Korea  Following discussions with its partners in talks to eliminate nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula, the United States says it is prepared to meet bilaterally with North Korea as a means of advancing the multilateral process known as the Six-Party Talks. North Korea had invited U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth and Ambassador Sung Kim, the State Department’s special envoy for the Six-Party Talks, to hold direct talks.

08 September 2009 Designation of Two North Korean Nuclear and Missile Entities  United States to freeze assets, halt transactions with designated entities.

08 September 2009 United States Weighing North Korean Offer of Bilateral Talks  The U.S. is considering its response to North Korea's invitation for bilateral talks, but a senior Obama administration official says any bilateral engagement would not be a substitute for the established multilateral format known as the Six-Party Talks.

10 August 2009 United States Calls for North Korea to Resume Six-Party Talks  The United States would be willing to hold one-on-one talks with North Korean officials about North Korea’s nuclear weapons development program and related issues if North Korea resumes participation in the stalled Six-Party Talks, President Obama’s national security adviser said August 9 in several news interviews.

05 August 2009 Pardoned U.S. Journalists Return Home from North Korea  President Obama says he is "extraordinarily relieved" that American television journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling have safely returned to the United States after the North Korean government agreed to their release following a meeting between former President Bill Clinton and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.

22 July 2009 United States Concerned About North Korea’s Ties to Burma  There is growing concern that North Korea is establishing military cooperation with Burma, which could destabilize the region, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says. "We know that there are … growing concerns about military cooperation between North Korea and Burma, which we take very seriously," Clinton said at a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, with Thai Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu. "It would pose a direct threat to Burma’s neighbors. And it is something as a treaty ally of Thailand that we are taking very seriously."

16 July 2009 U.S., China, Others Showing Strong Consensus on North Korea  Senior Obama administration officials praise the international community's "extraordinary convergence" over the seriousness of North Korea's nuclear program as well as the need to implement United Nations sanctions to achieve the ultimate goal of eliminating nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula.

08 July 2009 Sanctions, North Korea Talks "Mutually Reinforcing," U.S. Says   Increased sanctions on North Korea that were imposed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874 are getting the international community to return to the original goal of convincing North Korea that its only option to improve its relationship with the world is to have a dialogue over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, a senior State Department official says.

06 July 2009 U.S. Sees Seriousness of Purpose on North Korean Sanctions  The U.S. coordinator for implementing United Nations Security Council resolution 1874, which targets North Korean nuclear and missile technology, says East Asian countries are responding well to efforts to restrict Pyongyang’s ability to continue its programs in defiance of the international community.

02 July 2009 North Korea Must Stop Provocations and Return to Talks, U.S. Says  The Obama administration describes North Korea's launch of four short-range missiles July 2 as "not helpful" and "dangerous," and calls on the North Koreans to return to talks with the international community. According to the South Korean Defense Ministry, two of the missiles were launched from a base located near the eastern port of Wonsan and the others were launched from nearby Sinsang-ni.

22 June 2009 Obama Says U.S. Prepared for Any North Korean Threat  The United States is prepared if North Korea launches a long-range ballistic missile in the direction of Hawaii near the July 4 weekend, President Obama says. “This administration, and our military, is fully prepared for any contingencies,” Obama said in a CBS News interview broadcast June 22.

12 June 2009 United Nations Imposes Sanctions on North Korea  The U.N. Security Council unanimously voted to impose additional security and economic sanctions and a trade and arms embargo on North Korea for testing a nuclear device May 25 and also for testing a long-range ballistic missile in April.

10 June 2009 U.N. Security Council to Consider New Sanctions on North Korea  Key global powers presented a resolution to the U.N. Security Council that would impose additional sanctions on North Korea for its recent nuclear weapons tests, says U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice. The draft resolution was unanimously agreed to by the five permanent Security Council members — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States — along with Japan and South Korea. A vote by the full 15-member Security Council could come as early as June 12 if there are no major objections from the Council.

08 June 2009 U.S. Seeking Strong Response to North Korea's Nuclear Actions  Not taking significant and effective action against North Korea's recent "provocative and belligerent behavior" to test a nuclear weapon and launch repeated short-range missiles could spark an arms race in Northeast Asia that nobody wants, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says.

01 June 2009 U.S. Will Not Accept North Korea as Nuclear Weapons State  The U.S. will not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told an annual Asian security conference in Singapore. "Dependent on the charity of the international community to alleviate the hunger and suffering of its people, North Korea's leadership has chosen to focus the North's limited energies and resources on a reckless and ultimately self-destructive quest for nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles," Gates said.

27 May 2009 Clinton Says North Korea’s Actions Will Bring Consequences  The United States is working with the international community at the United Nations and in national capitals across the globe to determine the consequences that North Korea will face based on its latest behavior, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said.

26 May 2009 Obama Calls North Korea’s Nuclear Test Reckless  North Korea's recent underground nuclear test and short-range missile launches pose "a great threat to the peace and security of the world, and I strongly condemn their reckless action," President Obama said at the White House.
 • Remarks by Ambassador Rice on North Korean Nuclear Test

13 May 2009 Remarks to Media by U.S. Representative for North Korea Policy  Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, concluded a visit to East Asia after having reached agreement with some members of the Six-Party Talks process regarding the way forward. The Six-Party Talks, which involve China, Japan, North Korea (DPRK), Russia, South Korea and the United States, are multilateral negotiations aimed at eliminating North Korea’s nuclear program. The talks stalled after North Korea refused to provide full disclosure of its nuclear weapons development program for international verification.

06 May 2009 U.S. Delegation Seeks to Resume North Korea Talks   A U.S. delegation is traveling to Northeast Asia and Moscow to determine if North Korea can be convinced to resume Six-Party Talks, says a State Department spokesman.

13 April 2009 Amb. Rice on U.N. Security Council's Statement on North Korea  Rice says any future launch is prohibited; violation of U.N. resolution.

20 February 2009 Clinton Names Special Representative for North Korea Policy  Veteran American diplomat Stephen Bosworth, the current dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, has been named special representative for North Korea policy and will oversee the Six-Party Talks on halting North Korea's nuclear development program.