US urges NK to stop 'destabilizing' actions after artillery fire

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller answers questions during a news briefing at the State Department, July 18, 2023, in Washington D.C. AP-Yonhap

The United States urged North Korea, Friday, to end its "destabilizing" actions and to return to diplomacy after it fired an artillery barrage near two South Korean border islands.

"We call on the DPRK to refrain from further provocative, destabilizing actions and return to diplomacy," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"In particular, we encourage the DPRK to engage in substantive discussions on identifying ways to manage military risks and create lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula," he said.

"As we have repeatedly made clear, the United States harbors no hostile intent towards the DPRK." North Korea's military said it had conducted a naval live-fire drill as a "natural countermeasure" against alleged threats by South Korea, a treaty-bound ally of the United States, which stations troops in the democratic country.

North Korea has repeatedly rebuffed offers for dialogue with President Joe Biden's administration.

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un met three times with Biden's predecessor Donald Trump, an unusually personal diplomatic approach that reduced tensions but produced no lasting agreement. (AFP)