North Korea missile trials were warm up for ‘full range’ test, US says

Two medium-range ballistic missile tests conducted by North Korea over the last two weeks were likely test runs for a new missile system and were made in preparation for a full-scale Intercontinental Ballistic Missile test that could be disguised as a space launch, US officials have said.

A senior administration official who briefed reporters on the government’s findings called the latest tests “a serious escalation” by North Korea, and a “brazen violation” of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions demanding the rogue state abandon its nuclear weapons programme, suspend ballistic missile development and testing, and re-join the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

“These launches … needlessly raise tensions and risk destabilizing the security situation in the region. We urge all countries to condemn these violations,” the official said.

The official noted that North Korea has broken with recent practice in trying to disguise its most recent tests as something other than weapons-related. They added that the US has chosen to reveal the information about the North Korean tests and share it with allies “because we prioritize the reduction of strategic risk and believe firmly that the international community must speak in united voice to oppose further development of such weapons”.

“The DPRK decision to pursue escalating tests of ballistic missiles risks raising tensions and destabilizing the Indo Pacific,” the official said. “While the door remains open to diplomacy, United States will take all necessary measures to ensure the security of American Home of the American homeland and our allies”

The recent North Korean tests brought an end to a period of relative quiet from Pyongyang following a series of highly publicised meetings between North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and former US president Donald Trump.

While Mr Trump frequently boasted that his communications with Mr Kim resulted in a halt to North Korea’s nuclear and missile testing, the North continued to test both missiles and nuclear weapons during that period, including a 2019 test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile.

And although the former president characterised his meetings with Mr Kim as successful, no agreement was reached to limit North Korea’s nuclear or missile programmes.

The senior administration official said the US will respond to the latest round of North Korean missile tests with a new round of sanctions to be announced on Friday by the Treasury Department, which will “help prevent the DPRK from accessing foreign items and technology that enable it to advance its prohibited weapons programmes,” as well as “a range of further actions” to be announced “in the coming days”.

“These actions are intended to make clear to the DPRK that these unlawful and destabilizing activities have consequences, that the international community will not accept these actions as normal, and — most importantly — that the only viable path forward for the DPRK is through diplomatic negotiations”.

They added that President Joe Biden is willing to meet with Mr Kim, but only “when there is a serious agreement on the table” that is “based on a working level of negotiations”.

“As we saw in the past administration, leader-level summits alone are no guarantee of progress”.