Biden Says "Nothing Has Changed" on North Korea's Missile Launch... US Indicates Willingness for Dialogue (Comprehensive Report 2)

"North Korea Policy Review to End Soon"
"No Need to Overhype This"
"Opinions Also Heard from Trump Administration Officials"

U.S. President Joe Biden is responding to questions about North Korea's short-range missile launch at the airport.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] U.S. President Joe Biden evaluated North Korea's short-range missile launch by saying, "Nothing has changed." The U.S. is showing a stance to minimize actions that could provoke North Korea ahead of the conclusion of its North Korea policy review.

On the 23rd (local time), in response to a reporter's question about North Korea's short-range missile launch, President Biden said, "We know that nothing has particularly changed."

Although President Biden did not make further comments, he also mentioned that he had been briefed on North Korea's short-range missile launch.

After the news of North Korea's short-range missile launch was reported through The Washington Post (WP) on the same day, U.S. officials have approached the matter cautiously.

An official stated, "We have intelligence, but the detailed situation has not been identified." This means that the launch was detected through intelligence networks rather than direct detection.

Earlier, U.S. media outlets such as CNN also disclosed that the exact identity of the missile launched by North Korea and the launch circumstances were not confirmed. U.S. North Korea experts estimated that it was likely the cruise missile 'Geumseong-3' previously revealed by the North.

A senior U.S. official said in a press briefing that North Korea's short-range missile launch is not a violation of UN Security Council resolutions or a provocation, and that North Korea's testing of various weapons systems is routine training. The official added that focusing too much attention on and overestimating such activities is not in the best interest.

The official also introduced that "we do not want North Korea to perceive that we have closed the door to dialogue."

The official emphasized, "We want to make it clear that we are ready to engage on North Korea issues together with our allies in Northeast Asia."

He also revealed that the Biden administration has listened to the four years of dialogue experience from individuals who negotiated with North Korea during the Trump administration as part of the North Korea policy review.

The official stated that the new U.S. North Korea policy review is nearly complete and that a meeting with security chiefs from the U.S., South Korea, and Japan will be held this weekend for the final review.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.