Joe Biden downplays North Korea's ballistic missile launch, says 'not provocation'

In a display of its military capabilities in defiance to the American-South Korean joint military exercise, North Korea over the weekend launched several short-range ballistic missiles, days after autocratic ruler Kim Jong Un’s sister threatened Washington. The US President Joe Biden, however, downplayed the Korean country’s first-ever military launch since he took office, saying that his defense officials called it “business as unusual”. At a White House press conference, Biden told reporters, "We have learned that nothing much has changed," responding to a reporter’s question about North Korea’s missile launch. He added, that there’s no “new wrinkle” in what North Korea did. 

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a US official familiar with the development told FT that it would not be in the best interest of the Biden administration to respond or hype the situation, which might escalate. He added that the US president played down the threat as Pyongyang missile launch did not breach the UN resolutions. And therefore, the official told reporters, it is in the best interest of the US to consider the military exercise part as “normal'' given that the Korean peninsula has a sensitive military environment. Furthermore, the official added that North Korea’s missile launch was one of the “regular activities” and it wasn’t in the interest of the United States to respond each time. 

Spat over North Korean national's extridition

US and North Korea indulged in a spat earlier last week after a Malaysian court extradited a North Korean criminal suspect to the US. Warning that the US “will pay the price” for the diplomatic mess, North Korea condemned Malaysia for “committing a super-large hostile act against North Korea in subservience to the US pressure.” As tensions between North Korea and the US escalated, the country issued fiery threats to its US counterpart Joe Biden saying that he must “refrain from causing a stink at first steps”. Additionally, there have been reports that Pyongyang has yielded no reply to the Biden administrations’ increasing efforts in establishing communication, including via multiple phone calls, and through the United Nations as a channel all through mid-February. 

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