WASHINGTON / SEOUL, May 18 (Reuters) – U.S. intelligence suggests there may be a North Korean nuclear test or long-range missile test, or both before, during or after President Joe Biden’s trip to South Korea and Japan beginning this year. week, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Wednesday.
The White House said Biden would not visit the demilitarized zone (DMZ), which separates North and South Korea during his visit to South Korea, which begins on Friday after he said last week that he was considering such a trip. Read more
“Our intelligence does reflect a real possibility of either an additional missile test, including a long-range missile test, or a nuclear test, or frankly both in the days before, after or after the president’s trip to the region,” Sullivan told a White briefing. house.
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“We are preparing for all unforeseen situations,” he said.
Sullivan said the United States is coordinating closely with South Korea and Japan and also discussed North Korea with Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi in a phone call Wednesday. Read more
Biden’s May 20-24 trip will be his first in Asia as president. It will include his first summit with South Korean President Yun Suk-yol, who took office on May 10 and promised a tougher line against North Korean “provocations”.
Sullivan said the United States is ready to make both short-term and long-term adjustments to its military position, if necessary, “to ensure that we provide both protection and deterrence to our allies in the region and that we respond to every North Korean provocation. “
Earlier, US and South Korean officials said North Korea appeared to be preparing to test an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) before Biden’s trip to South Korea, even as it fought a major COVID-19 outbreak.
South Korean Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae Hye said such a test seemed inevitable, and a US official said it could happen immediately on Thursday or Friday.
Kim Tae Hye said that a “Plan B” was prepared in case of a small or large North Korean “provocation”, which could include a change in the schedule of the summit.
The weapons test could overshadow Biden’s broader focus on China, trade and other regional issues and highlight the lack of progress in denuclearization talks with North Korea, despite his administration’s promise to break the stalemate with practical approaches.
North Korea has conducted multiple missile tests since Biden took office last year and resumed ICBM launches this year for the first time since 2017. After each launch, Washington called on North Korea to return to dialogue, but without a response.
FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is going to what state media reports is the Hwasun-17 intercontinental ballistic missile on its launch vehicle in this undated photo published on March 25, 2022 by the North Korean Central News Agency. Korea (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERS / file snapshot
Meanwhile, US efforts to promote tougher international sanctions have met with Russian and Chinese resistance. Read more
Analysts say that while China’s view of sanctions could change with new nuclear experience, Russian support seems unlikely following a US-sanctioned campaign for Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine.
Yun is expected to seek greater assurances from Biden that Washington will step up “extended deterrence” against North Korea, a reference to the US nuclear-armed umbrella defending its allies.
The Yun administration has asked Washington to deploy more “strategic assets” with nuclear capabilities, such as long-range bombers, submarines and aircraft carriers in the region.
Kim said North Korea’s chances of conducting a nuclear test this weekend appear low, but if it organizes a major provocation, such assets are ready to be mobilized.
A nuclear test could complicate international efforts to offer Pyongyang assistance in tackling the COVID crisis.
Yun offered to help North Korea on the issue, and analysts expect Biden to approve the effort, although his administration has said it has no plans to send vaccines directly to North Korea and Pyongyang has stubbornly refused help through the global vaccine initiative.
The growing number of cases and the lack of modern care for COVID-19 in North Korea worry World Health Organization officials that uncontrolled proliferation could lead to more deadly new options. Read more
North Korea has sent a plane to China to pick up medical supplies days after confirming the outbreak, media reported on Tuesday.
A new report from the Washington-based Center for International and Strategic Studies says commercial satellite imagery shows work continues at North Korea’s main nuclear facility, where underground test tunnels were closed in 2018 after leader Kim Jong Un announced a moratorium on nuclear and intercontinental tests.
He has since said he is no longer bound by the moratorium due to a lack of progress in negotiations with the United States. Although North Korea has resumed ICBM tests, it has not tested a nuclear bomb since 2017.
North Korea has also resumed construction of a long-dormant nuclear reactor that would increase plutonium production for nuclear weapons by 10 times, researchers from the US-based James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Research said last week, citing satellite imagery.
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Report by Idris Ali in Washington and Josh Smith in Seoul; Additional reports from Soo-hyang Choi in Seoul and David Brunstrom, Alexandra Alper and Trevor Hunick in Washington; Edited by Gary Doyle and Sandra Mahler
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