US won’t ‘overreact’ to N. Korea missile launches, Defense Secretary Esper says

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Tuesday that the United States will not overreact to a series of missiles launches by North Korea in recent weeks, AP reports.

“The key is to keep the door open for diplomacy,” Esper told reporters traveling with him to Japan. “We’re not going to overreact to these, but we monitor them, we watch them closely and we’re cognizant of what’s happening.”

North Korea fired missiles into the sea off its east coast for the fourth time in less than two weeks, the South Korean military said on Tuesday. Pyongyang says that joint US-South Korea military drills violated diplomatic agreements.