US, Japanese and South Korean officials claimed yesterday they were committed to a diplomatic solution to their confrontation with North Korea.

US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan said the aim of sanctions was to “bring North Korea to the negotiating table without preconditions so that we can achieve our objective of a denuclearised Korean peninsula.”

• On Tuesday, North Korea’s United Nations ambassador Kim In Ryong said his country planned many more satellite launches over the next three years and condemned US claims that such launches were a threat.