On Wednesday, the United States condemned North Korea's launching of a suspected ballistic missile as claimed by South Korea and calls on Pyongyang to hold talks.

"This launch is in violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions and poses a threat to the DPRK's neighbors and the international community," a State Department spokesperson said.

"We remain committed to a diplomatic approach to the DPRK and call on them to engage in dialogue," he said.

Despite announcing commitment to diplomacy, the spokesperson also said the US is committed to defending both South Korea and Japan. To this end, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are already set to meet virtually Thursday for regular security talks with their Japanese counterparts.

On its part, President Joe Biden's administration has repeatedly claimed the US is open to holding talks with North Korea, yet nothing was materialized. 

This comes after South Korean military claimed that North Korea launched what is "presumed to be a ballistic missile" towards the sea east of the peninsula from Jagang Province, which borders China.

This could be North Korea's first nuclear test this year.

According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea allegedly fired one ballistic missile from the country's interior toward the Sea of Japan.

This test comes less than three months after the previous one, which occurred on October 19, 2021, when North Korea conducted a submarine ballistic missile test.