North Korea may test-fire nuclear weapons while Biden visits South Korea and Japan, US says

Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Adviser, said Wednesday that North Korea may conduct a nuclear test, missile test, or both while President Joe Biden is in east Asia.

There is a genuine possibility that there will be either a long-range missile test or a nuclear test in the days leading up to or after the President's trip to the region.

South Korea and Japan are expected to be visited by Biden. He is going to meet the leaders of both nations and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Since the start of the year, the United Nations and South Korea have condemned North Korea for conducting long-range weapons tests.

Sullivan said that they were preparing for the possibility that a provocation would occur while they were in Korea or Japan.

He said that he had called the head of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission to discuss security issues like a provocation from North Korea.

Sullivan said the Biden administration would make both short and longer term adjustments to our military posture to ensure that we are providing both defense and deterrence to our allies in the region.

The Demilitarized Zone, the border between North and South Korea, will not be visited by Biden during his upcoming trip, according to the White House Press Secretary.