The White House says it will continue to push for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in its response to North Korea’s latest nuclear weapons test though "all options are on the table."
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters on September 5 that President Donald Trump is still considering his next move, including possible diplomatic and economic measures, though talks with Pyongyang were not the current focus for the administration.
"We're going to continue to push for a safer and denuclearized Korean Peninsula, and that's the priority here," she said.
The comments come hours after United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the nuclear risk posed by North Korea is the "most dangerous crisis we face today."
Speaking to reporters in New York City, Guterres reiterated his stern condemnation of the nuclear tests carried out by North Korea, and called on Pyongyang to comply with its international obligations and for talks to diffuse the crisis.
North Korea trumpeted "perfect success" on September 3 in its underground nuclear explosion, saying it had tested what it said was a hydrogen bomb capable of being loaded on a long-range missile.
The bomb was thought to have a power range of at least 50 kilotons -- five times the size of the North's previous nuclear test in September 2016 and more than three times bigger than the bomb the United States dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.
North Korea's nuclear and ballistic-missile programs were banned by resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council -- whose permanent members are the Russia, the United States, China, Britain, and France -- but Pyongyang has continued to carry out tests.