HONOLULU—U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that the United States will continue to speak out against North Korea, indicating that it will not neglect addressing human rights violations in favor of nuclear deterrence.

Kerry, speaking from the East-West Center on the campus of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, addressed the North near the end of a 50-minute speech outlining U.S. policy on the Asia-Pacific. While Kerry spoke in mostly optimistic terms, including hopes for U.S.-China cooperation on climate change and the peaceful resolution of territorial disputes, his remarks for the Pyongyang regime were a blunt condemnation.