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Obama Vows Tougher Sanctions on North Korea After Missile Launch

Barack Obama said the U.S would work with its allies to toughen sanctions on North Korea after it conducted fresh ballistic missile launches.
Image: Obama and South Korea's Park
Barack Obama and South Korea's President Park Geun-hye meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit, in Vientiane, Laos, on Tuesday.JONATHAN ERNST / Reuters

President Barack Obama said Tuesday the United States would work with its allies to toughen sanctions on North Korea after the reclusive nation this week launched more ballistic missiles.

Pyongyang fired three medium-range missiles that traveled about 600 miles and landed near Japan on Monday, according to South Korean officials.

Image: Obama and South Korea's Park
Barack Obama and South Korea's President Park Geun-hye meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit, in Vientiane, Laos, on Tuesday.JONATHAN ERNST / Reuters

Obama's comments came after a meeting with President Park Geun-hye of South Korea at a summit of the the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Obama said the latest launches were provocative and that the country needed to know such actions would increase its isolation in the world.

Park said a string of nuclear tests and continued missile launches by North Korea were threatening the security of the Korean Peninsula.

Obama said that both he and Park wanted peace and security, adding that there was room for dialogue if the North changed direction.