The White House is imposing new restrictions on North Korea in response to two recent ballistic missile tests, which the administration called a serious escalation of the regime’s long-range weapons program.
North Korea conducted missile tests Feb. 26 and March 4 as part of a system it is developing, which U.S. intelligence has determined are clandestine attempts to gauge the regime’s ballistic capabilities. The tests, which stopped short of a full launch, have prompted the United States to ramp up intelligence activities near the country and boost its defensive readiness.
A senior administration official previewed the administration’s response on Thursday, accusing the regime of “brazen violation” of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions and of stoking security tensions in the region.
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The Treasury Department will announce penalties Friday intended to stop advances in North Korea’s weapons program, targeting the country’s access to tools and technology. The official declined to preview the measures further but said to expect additional actions in the days that follow.
The senior official warned that the regime’s actions were likely intended to test parts of a new system before a launch at full range, which they may then attempt to disguise as a Space Launch.
“This is a serious escalation by the DPRK,” the senior official said, adding that “unlike its past tests, DPRK tried to hide these escalatory steps.”
The tests did not show intercontinental range, the official added. He declined to say whether a maneuverable reentry vehicle was involved. The new system was initially unveiled during the Korean Worker’s Party parade in October 2020 and then again at a defense exhibition in Pyongyang in late 2021.
In 2017, North Korea tested missiles that analysts said demonstrated intercontinental range.
The White House is sharing the details publicly after consulting South Korea, Japan, and other partners, aiming to rally partners to oppose North Korea’s weapons program.
“The international community must speak in a united voice to oppose further development of such weapons by the DPRK,” the official said.
In a call to congratulate South Korea’s newly elected president Wednesday, President Joe Biden reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to the country’s security.
The White House has urged North Korean leaders to begin diplomatic talks to no avail.
Biden called North Korea’s reclusive leader Kim Jong Un a “thug” during his 2020 presidential campaign, but upon taking office, he said that he would be willing to meet to discuss the regime’s nuclear program.
The senior official reiterated the push, telling reporters that the U.S. continues to seek diplomacy “and we are prepared to meet without preconditions.”
“President Biden himself has previously made clear that he is open to meeting with Kim Jong Un when there is a serious agreement on the table,” he said. “DPRK continues to not respond.”
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But the official said the summit would need to follow working-level negotiations “because, as we saw in the past administration, leaders-level summits alone are no guarantee of progress.”
Former President Donald Trump met with Kim while in the White House and has told associates that he has remained in contact with him since leaving office.
