Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder is seen answering questions during a daily press briefing at the Department of Defense in Washington, U.S., Aug. 22, in this captured image. Yonhap



The United States will take all steps necessary to counter provocations by North Korea, a Pentagon spokesperson said Tuesday, amid reports that Pyongyang may be poised to launch a space rocket in the near future.



North Korea has notified Japan of its plan to fire a space launch vehicle between Thursday and Aug. 31, according to a report by Japan's Kyodo News.



"As always, we will stand with our Japanese and our ROK allies in the face of North Korea's continued provocations to include their claimed space program," Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told a daily press briefing, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.



"So we are going to take all necessary measures to ensure that the security of our homeland and the defense of our allies continues, and we will continue working closely with Japan and (the) ROK to promote peace, security and stability in the region," he added.



North Korea's planned launch comes after it unsuccessfully fired what it claimed to be its first military reconnaissance satellite in late May.



The U.S. had strongly condemned the North's failed satellite launch, noting a space rocket uses the same technology used in ballistic missile, which Pyongyang is strictly prohibited from using or developing under multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.



North Korea has warned that a "large-scale thermonuclear war" was approaching the Korean Peninsula, criticizing an annual South Korea- U.S. joint military exercise which began Monday.



"The provocative language coming out of North Korea is, of course, dangerous," the defense department spokesperson said when asked about the North Korean threat.



"We certainly would be willing to engage in dialogue with North Korea with no preconditions and so we will continue to maintain that stance, but to this point, they have not agreed to do that," added Ryder.





U.S. President Joe Biden holds a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during the trilateral summit at Camp David near Thurmont, Maryland, U.S., Aug. 18. Reuters-Yonhap