North Korea confirms missile tests as Joe Biden warns of response

The test-firings were the North's first major provocation since Joe Biden took office in January.

North Korea on Friday confirmed it had tested a new guided missile as President Joe Biden warned of consequences if Pyongyang escalates tensions amid stalled nuclear negotiations.

Seoul: People watch a TV showing a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Suseo Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday. March 25, 2021. North Korea on Thursday test-fired its first ballistic missiles since President Joe Biden took office, as it expands its military capabilities and increases pressure on Washington while nuclear negotiations remain stalled. AP/PTI(AP03_25_2021_000202A) (AP)

The North's official Korean Central News Agency said the two “new-type tactical guided projectiles” accurately hit the target off the eastern coast on Thursday. Photos on the website of the North's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed a missile lifting off from a transport erector launcher amid bright flames.

KCNA quoted top official Ri Pyong Chol, who supervised the test, as saying that the new weapon's development “is of great significance in bolstering up the military power of the country and deterring all sorts of military threats existing on the Korean Peninsula.”

Japanese officials said both weapons tested Thursday were ballistic missiles, which are prohibited by UN Security Council resolutions. According to South Korean officials, North Korea fired two other missiles on Sunday but they were likely cruise missiles, which are not banned.

The test-firings were the North's first major provocation since Biden took office in January. Some experts say North Korea aimed to apply pressure on the Biden administration to boost its leverage in future talks.

“We're consulting with our allies and partners,” Biden told a news conference Thursday. “And there will be responses if they choose to escalate. We will respond accordingly. But I'm also prepared for some form of diplomacy, but it has to be conditioned upon the end result of denuclearization.”

US-North Korea talks on curbing the North's nuclear ambitions have been in a limbo for about two years due to disputes over US-led sanctions on the North. In January, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he would expand his weapons arsenal and build up his country's military capability to cope with what he called American hostility.