Deputy US Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Tuesday warned that North Korea would face a "swift and forceful" response if it conducts a widely anticipated nuclear test.
Sherman issued the warning after she met with her South Korean counterpart, Cho Hyun-dong, in Seoul, to discuss the North's weekend missile launches and the possibility of it conducting what would be its seventh nuclear test, reports Yonhap News Agency.
"Any nuclear tests would be in complete violation of UN Security Council resolutions, " Sherman told reporters.
"There would be a swift and forceful response to such a test. The entire world will respond in a strong and clear manner. We are prepared."
Touching on the North's Covid-19 situation, the US diplomat called on leader Kim Jong-un to focus on coping with the public health issue "rather than taking provocative and dangerous and destabilising actions".
However, Sherman reiterated the Biden administration's desire to re-engage with the North.
"The US harbours no hostile intent towards the DPRK. We continue to urge Pyongyang to ceases its destabilizing and provocative activities and choose the path of diplomacy, " she said.
DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.