US consults with nations on situation in NKorea

WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. says it is consulting with regional lpartners about the internal situation in North Korea after the execution of leader Kim Jong Un's uncle

The White House says there's a concern about the possibility of external provocations by Pyongyang.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the execution of Jang Song Thaek, announced Friday, underscored the brutality of the nation's authoritarian government and its dire human rights record.

North Korea's state-run media said Jang had been executed as a traitor. He was long considered the country's second most powerful figure.

Harf says Washington is focused on the need for North Korea to denuclearize.

She said the U.S. would deepen its discussions with allies South Korea and Japan, and Russia and China, its partners in long-stalled aid-for-disarmament negotiations with the North.