President Joe Biden’s chief national security adviser has warned that North Korea might do more after the latest ballistic missile test.
“We view this as part of a pattern of testing and provocation by North Korea that has played out over the past month and will continue,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said at a briefing on Friday. “We think there’s probably more in the store.”
He also said that the United States is watching China to make sure it does not give Russia any military or other assistance in its invasion of Ukraine.
Sullivan noted that the 30-member NATO alliance issued a joint statement urging China not to interfere, saying leaders agreed that Beijing “should not provide military or other assistance to Russia in its brutal war in Ukraine.” , and all Allies have agreed to carry this message individually, and to discuss it together.”
“We have not seen the Chinese moving forward in the supply of military equipment to Russia, but we continue to see this every day,” he added.
President Biden spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday and warned him of the “consequences” Beijing would face if it supported Russia during its invasion of Ukraine.
In a nearly two-hour video call between the two leaders, Biden “described the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia in its brutal attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilians,” according to a White House report on the call.
But the White House declined to say what those implications would be, and declined to say whether Biden had raised any specific questions with China, which has close diplomatic ties with Russia.
President Joe Biden’s top national security adviser Jake Sullivan (above, with the president) warned that North Korea could do more after the latest ballistic missile test.
The White House and its allies fear that Chinese President Xi Jinping may assist Russian President Vladimir Putin in his invasion of Ukraine.
Sullivan made his comments during a briefing on Air Force One as President Biden traveled to Poland to study the refugee situation in Ukraine and meet with US troops.
It was part of Biden’s four-day trip to Europe, where he held emergency summits with NATO, EU and G7 leaders to discuss the situation in Ukraine, including fears that China could intervene by providing a lifeline to Russia’s growing President Vladimir Putin. isolated since he invaded Ukraine almost a month ago.
But other foreign news overshadowed Biden’s trip, including reports that North Korea had tested a long-range ballistic missile.
President Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Brussels on Thursday to condemn North Korea’s launch of a long-range ballistic missile that poses a serious security threat to the Pacific region.
The two men were seen strolling together through the corridors of NATO headquarters ahead of a scheduled official photograph of the G7 leaders. Kishida traveled to Brussels for a G7 meeting where the leaders were to discuss additional financial sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
But he and Biden also discussed Kim Jong-un’s rocket launch, which both condemned. The US president called it a security threat, and Kishida said he accused Pyongyang of “an unacceptable act of violence.”
“The two leaders discussed the launch of a long-range ballistic missile by the DPRK, which both leaders strongly condemned, stressed the need for diplomacy, and agreed to continue to work together to hold the DPRK to account,” a White House official said of the meeting.
“President Biden conveyed to Prime Minister Kishida our unwavering commitment to the security of Japan and the Republic of Korea, thanked Prime Minister Kishida for Japan’s strong response to Putin’s election war in Ukraine, and agreed on the need to maintain unity in the future. the official noted.
Earlier Thursday, the White House condemned the launch of a rocket that flew higher than any other rocket before and could reach any part of the United States, calling it a security breach in the region.
“The United States strongly condemns the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) for testing a long-range ballistic missile,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
President Biden’s administration called on Kim Jong-un to “immediately stop” such actions and pledged to support South Korea, Japan and its other Pacific allies.
“The door to diplomacy is not yet closed, but Pyongyang must stop its destabilizing actions immediately. The United States will take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the American homeland, the Republic of Korea, and Japan’s allies,” Psaki said.
President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Brussels on Thursday to condemn North Korea’s launch of a long-range ballistic missile.
President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida were seen strolling together in the hallways of NATO Headquarters ahead of the G7 meeting.
Biden and Kishida met prior to the G7 Leaders’ Meeting on Ukraine – above is a G7 family photo with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British Prime Minister (left to right) Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Drag
The test, reportedly the largest in the country’s history, launched a new, more dangerous type of missile, the first test of a long-range weapon in the country since 2017, according to South Korean and Japanese military officials.
Footage released by Japan’s Ministry of Defense on Thursday, taken by a Japanese F-15, shows the missile reportedly flying thousands of miles over the Sea of Japan.
Defense Ministry officials said the missile was fired off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula.
The F-15 confirmed in the air that the missile was linked to a ballistic missile launched from North Korea.
The move by the Kim Jong-un-led country comes as the US has been largely preoccupied with the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, suggesting the country has taken advantage of the distraction to step up its missile tests — similar to recent moves by China and Iran.
Japanese officials estimate the rocket climbed to a previously unseen height of 3,850 miles – 3,600 miles higher than the International Space Station – and a distance of 684 miles before it crashed into Japanese waters off the northern island of Hokkaido early Thursday morning after the flight. for 71 hours. minutes.
The missile’s flight path was 1,000 miles higher and nearly 20 minutes longer than the country’s previous ICBM test, the November 2020 Hwaseong-15 launch, which was capable of reaching any part of the continental United States.
The height of Thursday’s missile and steep trajectory suggest it is a “new type” of ICBM, Japanese Deputy Defense Minister Makoto Oniki told reporters Thursday. It is noticeably more powerful than the Hwasong-15.
The launch comes just over a year after North Korea unveiled the Hwasong-17, its largest known ICBM, during a military parade in October 2020.
Analysts have called the 330,000-pound behemoth – one of the largest ever seen – a “monster rocket.”
North Korea on Thursday launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017, capable of hitting any part of the continental United States, while its Western rival was focused on rising tensions with Russia amid the war in Ukraine.
The “new” missile is believed to be the Hwasong-17, featured in this image at a military parade in Pyongyang in October 2020, the country’s largest and most destructive weapon.
Before the test on Thursday, US and South Korean officials warned that North Korea could test its new missile under the guise of launching a satellite.
The test also marks the end of the country’s voluntary moratorium on long-range testing during Donald Trump’s presidency, and is taking place as Western leaders gather in Brussels for a security summit.
North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) seaward off its east coast early Thursday morning, the South Korean and Japanese military said.