Obama condemns North Korea missile launches

Laotian President Bounnhang Vorachit and U.S. President Barack Obama talk with the help of a translator during an Official State Luncheon at the Presidential Palace in Vientiane, Laos, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

VIENTIANE, Laos – US President Barack Obama says the United States will work with allies to toughen sanctions on North Korea after further ballistic missile launches Monday. But Obama says there is room for dialogue if North Korea changes direction.

Obama’s comments come after a meeting with President Park Geun-hye (goon-hay) of South Korea on Tuesday. The two leaders are attending a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He says the two leaders want peace and security for all peoples.

Obama says the latest North Korea launches are provocative and that North Korea needs to know that such actions will increase its isolation in the world.

Park says a nuclear test and continued missile launches are fundamentally threatening the security of the Korean Peninsula.