<Anchor>

At the request of the United States, a UN Security Council meeting was held yesterday morning to discuss North Korea. The North said it was a decisive help in making a decision, and it was a discourse on the irony, and the United States once again made a principled and strong stance overnight. The Pentagon says it hopes for the best but prepares for the worst.

Correspondent Son Seok-min in Washington reports.

<Reporter>

The Pentagon has sent a message to North Korea in a regular briefing to stop further provocations.

Mr. Berne says he wants North Korea to abide by the North's commitment to stop the test when it asks about the possibility of a nuclear test or long-range missile launch.

He added that he is preparing for the worst by quoting Secretary of Defense Iran's statement.

[Walliam Burn / US Joint Chiefs of Staff: Hope alone is not a strategy. As Secretary Esper said yesterday in Congress, we hope for the best and prepare for the worst.]

If North Korea finally goes to the test, it intends to consider military countermeasures.

The State Department's Assistant Secretary of State, Steelwell East Asia, also made it clear that North Korea cannot accept any wrongdoing.

[David Steelwell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia: Reminds me that I can no longer accept this sorry and indiscriminate action. The US position has not changed.]

The US military is also strengthening reconnaissance activities against North Korea.

The US Air Force's flagship surveillance patrol aircraft was reportedly flying over the Korean peninsula for two consecutive days yesterday.

Joint stars were also captured over the Korean Peninsula to monitor and scout ground targets.

Amid growing tensions between North America and North Korea, a vice minister of state nominee, who is leading the negotiations with North Korea, is expected to visit this weekend.