WASHINGTON—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement regarding the reported test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) by North Korea:

“Once again, North Korea's reckless and provocative behavior is threatening security and stability in the Asia Pacific region. This is the regime’s fourth test this year and the latest provocation by the young dictator Kim Jung Un.

“The timing of this and other recent tests suggests that Kim is conducting them as a way to shore up domestic support in advance of the Congress of the Workers Party, scheduled for next month. Clearly Kim Jung Un will stop at nothing to secure his position at the helm of North Korea’s oppressive regime.

“Despite the regime's claims, I don't believe that North Korea would abandon its troubling course if the United States stopped our joint military exercises with our allies in the region.

“It is critical, however, for China and Russia, who provide the vast majority of the regime’s economic support, to do more to change the calculus of North Korea’s ruling elite and bring them back to the negotiating table.”

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