Washington, Jan 25 (IANS): The US has called on North Korea 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.

"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 on Wednesday 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 harbour 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 behaviours," he added.

Patel also underscored that the US goal of engagement with North Korea 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.