The top U.S. diplomat has hinted that North Korea is likely to continue testing more powerful weapons — including a possible intercontinental ballistic missile launch — as tensions between Washington and Moscow surge over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.

But in a trilateral meeting with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged that the Ukraine crisis would not hamper Washington's ability to deal with a show of force by Pyongyang.

"I certainly don't rule out that North Korea could engage in further provocative actions as things are happening in other parts of the world, including in Europe with regard to Ukraine," Blinken said Saturday in Hawaii when asked about the growing possibility of North Korea staging an ICBM test.