S. Korea, US pledge firm response to N. Korea

SEOUL - South Korean President Park Geun-hye said on Friday the United States and South Korea had agreed to do what it takes to contain North Korean"provocations".

She was speaking after talks with visiting US President Barack Obama.

In March, the North warned it would not rule out a "new form" of nuclear test to boost its nuclear deterrent, after the UN Security Council condemned Pyongyang's launch of a mid-range ballistic missile into the sea east of the peninsula.

North Korea has been under UN sanctions since its first nuclear test in 2006, banning it from conducting atomic and missile tests, barring UN member states from weapons trade with Pyongyang and financial transactions that facilitate them.