North Korea Launched 2 Missiles Since Biden Administration

North Korea carried out its first weapons test since the Biden administration took office, launching two short-range missiles over the weekend, U.S. officials said Tuesday.

In a briefing with reporters, two senior administration officials said the testing Pyongyang carried out was “on the low end of the spectrum” and were not covered by U.N. Security Council testing bans. A U.S. official who chose to remain anonymous clarified to CNN that the projectiles launched were not ballistic missiles.

Washington downplayed the weekend weapons test and said the Biden administration was still open to dialogue with Pyongyang.

“We do not see the activity that took place this weekend as closing that door,” a senior official said.

“This is a system that is not covered by U.N. Security Council resolutions,” an official pointed out. “It is a normal part of the kind of testing North Korea would do. We do not believe it is in our best interest to hype these things in circumstances in which we would consider those activities as part of a ‘normal’ set of a tense military environment like we see on the Korean peninsula.”

Nevertheless, the Biden administration reiterated that U.S. forces in the region remain on high alert.

“It would be hard to find a place on the planet where there is more vigilance than the circumstance and situation surrounding North Korea,” a senior official said. “Our forces are always prepared, always on high alert.”

News of the weapons test comes after North Korea refused to engage in diplomatic relations with the Biden administration since mid-February. Officials told Reuters that the new administration is “in the final stages” of reviewing the president’s North Korea policy.

Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, is expected to host the national security advisers of Japan and South Korea next week to discuss the policy.