U.S. urges North Korea to join direct talks after missile test

FILE PHOTO: Residents hold US and North Korean flags while they wait for motorcade of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un en route to the Metropole Hotel for the second US- North Korea summit in Hanoi, Vietnam February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Kham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Sunday made a direct appeal to North Korea to join direct talks with no preconditions about its nuclear and missile programs, after Pyongyang sent a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile soaring into space.

"We believe it is completely appropriate and completely correct to start having some serious discussions," a senior Biden administration official told reporters.