US authorities are on the alert as the US and South Korea conduct small-scale simulated military exercises and US Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are in Asia for meetings with their Japanese counterparts. and South Koreans.
A senior US official said North Korea could decide whether to test after seeing what comes out of Blinken and Austin’s meetings in Asia.
Blinken and Austin met their counterparts in Tokyo on Tuesday and reaffirmed their commitment to “complete denuclearization of North Korea” and to creating opportunities for greater cooperation between the US, Japan and South Korea, according to a statement from the US Department of State.
They will hold meetings in South Korea on Wednesday, local time.
On Tuesday, a senior US general issued a public alert on the threat posed by North Korea
“The Kim Jong Un regime has achieved alarming success in its quest to demonstrate the ability to threaten the homeland of the USA with nuclear weapons ICBMs, believing that such weapons are necessary to stop US military action and ensure the survival of its regime” , said General Glen Van Herck. , head of the US Northern Command and responsible for the defense of the continental United States, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
The possibility of a test in the next few days prompted Biden government officials from several agencies to discuss how they would react publicly if that happened, officials said.
The officials were not specific about what the latest information shows, but a likely scenario, based on images and other information, is that there could be a missile test or rocket engine. The last known North Korean weapons test was carried out in March 2020.
In recent days, US intelligence has focused on vehicle activity at a location near Sanum-dong, outside Pyongyang, where ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles have been built in the past.
Officials told CNN that if North Korea carries out a test while the two secretaries are in Asia, it would send a direct message to Biden that Kim wants to ensure that he is seen as a key player in the region. However, a test would not be a shock, with many analysts surprised. Kim refrained from doing it for so long.
The Biden government is still conducting a review of the Trump administration’s policy towards North Korea, which could be announced “in the coming weeks”, according to a senior State Department official. Although Biden is unlikely to write “love letters” to Kim Jong Un as his predecessor did, the Biden government has yet to offer a clear break with the previous government in its stated objectives of approaching the Hermit Kingdom. On several occasions, in statements, statements or reports, the American authorities have said that their aim is “the complete denuclearization of North Korea”.
Military and intelligence officials have long claimed that they believe North Korea has continued to research and develop missiles and nuclear warheads throughout the Trump administration, despite public rhetoric by Trump and now by the Biden governments about denuclearization. “North Korea’s continuing search for weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs poses an extraordinary threat to the United States and our allies and partners in the region,” said David Helvey, deputy defense secretary for Indo-Pacific Affairs, to the Chamber of Armed Services Committee last week.
Jennifer Hansler, Nicole Gaouette and Kylie Atwood of CNN contributed to this report.