North Korea Missiles: Biden says launch ‘not provocation’

North Korea: US President Joe Biden has said, he does not consider North Korea’s launch of short-range missiles. Mr Biden added that defence officials called it “business as usual”. Moreover, North Korea is said to have fired non-ballistic cruise missiles which do not flout UN Security Council resolutions, over the weekend. The incident happened after Pyongyang criticised the US and South Korea for conducting joint military exercises.

While it also comes as Biden’s administration continues to attempt to make contact with Korea. The launch, originally reporting by US media, has since been confirming by US officials and the South Korean defence ministry. South Korea said two cruise missiles were firing into the Yellow Sea early on Sunday from Onchon in North Korea. Responding to reporters questions on Tuesday night, Mr Biden said. We have learned that nothing has changed.

When asked if he considered the test a provocation he said, No, according to the Defence Department, it’s business as usual. There’s no new wrinkle in what they did. It’s true that every test of a missile by Pyongyang helps improve its military capabilities and that is always a concern to the international community.

However, cruise missile tests are not a breach of UN Security Council sanctions and North Korea has bigger weapons in its arsenal. If it really wanted to challenge the Biden administration. 

North Korea Policy:

The current focus of the new White House team and its allies is the impending review on North Korea policy. Decades of sanctions and three summits between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un have failed to prevent from developing a larger and more deadly nuclear arsenal.

Extremely President Biden is most likely waving off this latest missile teat for good reason – there’s a much bigger challenge ahead. Senior US officials have separately said they considered the launch “normal military activity by the North.”

Moreover, the US government had previously said it had been trying for weeks to make diplomatic contact with North Korea. Pyongyang has yet to acknowledge that president Biden is now in office and the two countries remain at loggerheads over the North’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

During Mr Biden election campaign he called Mr Kim a thug and said North Korean nuclear disarmament had to happen before US and UN economic sanctions could be relaxed.