North Korea Faces Further Isolation After Missile Test - White House

The U.S. government is aware of reports that North Korea conducted a failed effort to launch a missile and strongly condemned the attempt, the White House said on Friday.

[Soundbite] WHITE HOUSE SPOKESPERSON, JOSH EARNEST: "The United States will continue to monitor and assess this situation close coordination with our regional allies and partners. As we have done before the United States strongly condemns this provocative act by the North Korean government. It is in violation UN Security Council resolutions that explicitly prohibit North Korea's use of ballistic missile technology. The United States is strongly committed to the defense of our allies, particularly our allies in Asia. That includes the Republic of Korea and Japan."

North Korea attempted and failed to launch what experts believe was an intermediate-range ballistic missile on Friday in defiance of U.N. sanctions. The failed launch, as the reclusive country celebrates the "Day of the Sun" on the birthday of Kim Jong Un's grandfather, follows the North's fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch in February, which led to new U.N. sanctions.

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