The United States on Thursday urged North Korea to refrain from further provocations and instead engage in dialogue.

A spokesperson for the Department of State also renewed the US condemnation of North Korea's recent missile tests.

"We condemn the DPRK's ballistic missile launches. These launches are in violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions and pose a threat to the DPRK's neighbors and the international community," the spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency in an email, asking not to be identified.

DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.

"We call on the DPRK to refrain from further provocations and engage in sustained and substantive dialogue," the spokesperson added.

The remarks come shortly after a spokesperson for the North Korean foreign ministry accused the US of trying to impose sanctions on the North for exercising its legitimate right to self-defense.

The North Korean official also argued the North will be "forced to take stronger and certain reaction" if the US adopts such a confrontational stance.

North Korea launched what it claims to be a hypersonic missile Tuesday (Seoul time), the second such test in less than a week.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the missile launches may have been aimed at getting the US' attention but that they still violated multiple UN Security Council resolutions.

He said the US and its allies are now focused on making sure that "There are repercussions, consequences for these actions by North Korea."

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador to the United Nations, on Wednesday said the US has proposed additional UN Security Council sanctions against Pyongyang.

The US has also imposed sanctions on six North Korean representatives based in China and Russia for illegally procuring materials for the North's weapons programs. (Yonhap)