North Korea launched an unspecified ballistic missile Tuesday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs, around the time President Joe Biden concluded his trip to Asia.
Tuesday’s test is the 17th such test North Korea has conducted this year, though specific details were not immediately available, according to Yonhap News Agency.
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U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said they are “aware of the multiple DPRK ballistic missile launches today and are assessing and consulting closely with our allies and partners,” in a statement and added that “while this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies, the missile launches highlights the destabilizing impact of the DPRK’s illicit weapons program.”
Biden has been briefed on the strike, according to a White House official.
The Biden administration preemptively warned last week that there was a possibility of a missile test.
“Our intelligence does reflect the genuine possibility that there will be either a further missile test, including long-range missile test, or a nuclear test — or, frankly, both in the days leading into, on, or after the president’s trip to the region," national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.
North Korea wasn’t the only U.S. adversary to push a military operation while the president was in the region.
Russia and China conducted a joint military operation involving nuclear-capable bombers while Biden was in Japan. The drills took place Tuesday when Biden was in Tokyo for the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue summit that includes leaders from the United States, Japan, India, and Australia.
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"The exercise shows that China is continuing its military cooperation with Russia in the Indo-Pacific, even as Russia brutalizes Ukraine," a senior administration official told Fox News. "It also shows that Russia will stand with China in the East and South China Seas, not with other Indo-Pacific states."