The United States on Thursday vowed to do all it can to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear program amid concern Pyongyang could conduct a nuclear or missile test
  
"We do continue to look at and will aim to use all the tools at our disposal to make clear ... that North Korea has a choice to make. The onus, as I've said before, the onus is on them," State Department spokesman John Kirby said at a daily briefing.
  
"They've got this choice to make to denuclearize and attain the peace and security and prosperity that we'd like to see on the peninsula, or stay along the current path and face increasing diplomatic isolation and economic deprivation," he said.
  
Earlier this week, North Korea strongly hinted that it could launch a long-range rocket or conduct a nuclear test. South Korea and the U.S. have urged the North to refrain from such provocative acts, warning of sanctions and other consequences.
  
In particular, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said it may "take more than economic sanctions" to pressure the North as it's already impoverished and isolated. The remark spurred speculation that the U.S. may be looking at stronger options to sharpen the North's choices.
  
But Kirby said that Kerry's point was that there's a limit to the pressure that can be exerted through sanctions alone, particularly unilateral sanctions from the United States, and that he does not have anything to announce with regard to fresh options to pressure Pyongyang.
  
"It's a difficult problem to solve and a difficult regime to influence, and we have to recognize that there are limits to what economic sanctions can do. But it doesn't mean that we're going to turn away from it or not continue to look at options," he said.
  
South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Hwang Joon-kook, who has been in Washington for talks with U.S. officials, stressed again Thursday that China and Russia also share the view that the North's rocket launch constitutes a violation of U.N. resolutions.
  
"The five parties, including China and Russia, have the same view that any launch using ballistic missile technology is a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and there should be a clear response if North Korea makes a strategic provocation,"
Hwang told reporters.
  
"The five parties are continuing efforts to deter provocations while leaving open the door for dialogue," he said. (Yonhap)