The United States called on North Korea Wednesday to refrain from further "threatening" activity and return to dialogue after Pyongyang fired several cruise missiles toward the Yellow Sea, the latest in a series of its weapons tests that heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the North fired the missiles on Wednesday morning (Korea time), without elaborating further. "We urge the DPRK to refrain from further threatening activity and call on Pyongyang to engage in serious and sustained diplomacy," a State Department spokesperson said in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Later in a press briefing, State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel repeated the message. "It's important to remember that we have been incredibly clear about the fact that we harbor no hostile intent towards the DPRK and continue to be open to diplomacy without preconditions," he said. "This is also an avenue for us to continue to consult closely with the Republic of Korea, with Japan and other allies and partners about how to best engage with the DPRK to deter some of their aggressive and destabilizing behaviors," he added. Patel also underscored that the U.S. goal of engagement with the North remains the same. "We are eager to engage in substantive discussions on identifying ways to not just manage military risk but create lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula as well as our continued stated goal of the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," he said. Separately, the U.S. Department of Defense reiterated America's security commitment to South Korea and Japan. "We are monitoring these activities. We have been very clear on the threat posed by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) military programs, and our commitment to the defense of the ROK, Japan, and our commitment to uphold regional peace and stability," a Pentagon spokesperson said in response to a q uestion from Yonhap News Agency. "We will continue to work with the both the ROK and Japanese governments to address the threats posed by the DPRK," the official added. ROK stands for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. Source: Yonhap News Agency