US President Barack Obama. Photo by EPA/BGNES
US President Barack Obama has called upon North Korea to stop its bellicose saber-rattling, adding that no one has an interest in conflict on the Korean peninsula.
“Now is the time for North Korea to end the belligerent approach they‘ve been taking, and lower temperatures,” Obama told reporters after meeting at the White House with UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon.
Obama insisted that “no one wants to see a conflict on the Korean peninsula.”
He warned that while he preferred to see tensions resolved through diplomatic means, "the United States will take all necessary steps to protect its people".
The UN Secretary General said he was “deeply concerned” by rising tensions between the north and south.