{"id":47711,"date":"2021-03-26T02:09:18","date_gmt":"2021-03-26T02:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/03\/26\/north-korea-confirms-it-tested-new-guided-missile-as-biden-warns-of-response\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T12:33:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T12:33:50","slug":"north-korea-confirms-it-tested-new-guided-missile-as-biden-warns-of-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2021\/03\/26\/north-korea-confirms-it-tested-new-guided-missile-as-biden-warns-of-response\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korea confirms it tested new guided missile as Biden warns of response"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SEOUL, South Korea \u2014 North Korea on Friday confirmed it had tested a new guided missile<\/a> as President Joe Biden warned of consequences if Pyongyang escalates tensions amid stalled nuclear negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The North\u2019s official Korean Central News Agency said the two \u201cnew-type tactical guided projectiles\u201d accurately hit the target off the eastern coast on Thursday. Photos on the website of the North\u2019s main Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed a missile lifting off from a transport erector launcher amid bright flames.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KCNA quoted top official Ri Pyong Chol, who supervised the test, as saying that the new weapon\u2019s development \u201cis of great significance in bolstering up the military power of the country and deterring all sorts of military threats existing on the Korean Peninsula.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japanese officials said both weapons tested Thursday were ballistic missiles, which are prohibited by U.N. Security Council resolutions. According to South Korean officials, North Korea fired two other missiles on Sunday but they were likely cruise missiles, which are not banned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The test-firings were the North\u2019s first major provocation<\/a> since Biden took office in January. Some experts say North Korea aimed to apply pressure on the Biden administration<\/a> to boost its leverage in future talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re consulting with our allies and partners,\u201d Biden told a news conference Thursday. \u201cAnd there will be responses if they choose to escalate. We will respond accordingly. But I\u2019m also prepared for some form of diplomacy, but it has to be conditioned upon the end result of denuclearization.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This photo provided by the North Korean government, shows what it says a test fire of newly developed new-type tactical guided projectile by the Academy of Defense Science, at an undisclosed place in North Korea, Thursday, March 25, 2021. (Korean Central News Agency\/Korea News Service via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The United States asked for a meeting of the U.N. Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against North Korea and it will take place Friday morning behind closed doors. The committee includes representatives from all 15 nations on the council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S.-North Korea talks on curbing the North\u2019s nuclear ambitions have been in a limbo for about two years due to disputes over U.S.-led sanctions on the North. In January, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he would expand his weapons arsenal and build up his country\u2019s military capability to cope with what he called American hostility.<\/p>\n\n\n\t