(AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met his Japanese and South Korean counterparts in Hawaii to discuss the threat posed by nuclear-armed North Korea after Pyongyang began the year with a series of missile tests. Blinken told journalists at a news conference after Saturday’s meeting that North Korea was “in a phase of provocation” and the three countries condemned the recent missile launches. The three countries released a joint statement calling on North Korea to engage in dialogue and cease its “unlawful activities.” They said they had no hostile intent toward North Korea and were open to meeting Pyongyang without preconditions.

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