The White House on Thursday issued a statement condemning North Korea for allegedly testing a new ICBM missile, reportedly the largest one tested by the government since 2017.
“This launch is a brazen violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions and needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.
President Joe Biden, who is currently in Brussels for a series of meetings with European leaders, did not react publicly to the launch.
The launch only adds to Biden’s national security concerns after Russian President Vladimir Putin escalated his war in Ukraine, Afghanistan was taken over by the Taliban, and China continues building up its military in the South China Sea.
A woman passes a TV report showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul on March 24, 2022. (ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty)
“The President and his national security team are assessing the situation in close coordination with our allies and partners,” Psaki wrote in her statement.
The White House noted “the door has not closed on diplomacy” with North Korea but insisted the government “immediately cease its destabilizing actions.”
The missile launch is thought to be the largest test since November 2017 after which former President Donald Trump began engaging with Kim.
Trump agreed to meet with Kim in June 2018 which kicked off a series of meetings and negotiations.
Biden also met with Kim in February 2019 but did not reach any deal surrounding United States sanctions or North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. Trump met with Kim again in June 2019 in the DMZ, becoming the first American president to set foot in the country.