Missile launches pressure N. Korea strategy

 Missile launches pressure N. Korea strategy

© AP/Patrick Semansky

President Biden may soon be forced to take action amid threats from an increasingly aggressive North Korea, which has flexed its military might in recent days with provocative missile launches.  

Biden, who has taken a more subdued approach to Pyongyang compared to his predecessor, former President Trump, has long called for open dialogue over a host of issues between the two nations without preconditions.   

The administration has taken no steps to entice North Korea to begin such talks — which the isolated nation has roundly rejected — but Pyongyang’s reported launching of at least two hypersonic, ballistic missiles this month are challenging Biden’s current stance.

Prioritizing North Korea: Experts say the Biden administration's focus on North Korea has dropped on its list of international priorities. Other challenges, like Russia’s military buildup on its border with Ukraine, reviving the nuclear deal with Iran and the fallout over the U.S.’s violent exit from Afghanistan, have required more immediate attention.   

“The desire to start a new diplomatic campaign to engage North Korea beyond what has already been on the table — that North Korea has not picked up — the appetite for that is pretty low,” said Jacob Stokes, a fellow in the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security.

“Ultimately, because there’s a number of other things going on.”   

DON'T IGNORE THE MISSILES

Biden officials are saying the administration won’t ignore Pyongyang’s ongoing missile tests, the latest of which took place on Jan. 10.

The Treasury Department on Wednesday issued sanctions against five North Korean nationals that it says are involved in procuring goods for Pyongyang’s weapons program and that it said were issued in response to at least six ballistic missile launches carried out by North Korea since September 2021.

These are likely to include reported launches on Jan. 10 of an advanced hypersonic ballistic missile, another hypersonic missile test on Jan. 5, a submarine-launched ballistic missile in October and launching long-range cruise missiles on Sept. 11 and 12. 

U.S. agencies are still analyzing the most recent test, which caused the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to temporarily pause some West Coast flights, but little else has been revealed on the launch. The Pentagon on Thursday declined to comment on what type of missile it has assessed the armament to be. 

Two more launches: North Korea on Friday launched two more ballistic missiles, hours after criticizing the U.S. for calling for more sanctions over missile launches. 

Two presumed short-range missiles (SRBMs) were detected by South Korea from the North Pyongan Province, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff announced, according to Reuters.

A presumed SRBM was also found launched into Japan's exclusive economic zone, according to an unnamed Japanese defense ministry official. The Japanese coast guard also reported that North Korea had fired a missile, the outlet notes.  

Read more of our North Korea coverage:

Biden strategy on North Korea under pressure over missile launches 

North Korea fires two more missiles, calls US sanctions a ‘provocation’ 

Early warning systems warned North Korea missile could hit US: report 

 The HILL