North Korea tests new guided missile; Biden issues warning

North Korea on Friday confirmed it had tested a new guided missile, as President Joe Biden warned of consequences if Pyongyang escalates tensions amid stalled nuclear negotiations.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said the two “new-type tactical guided projectiles” accurately hit the target off the eastern coast on Thursday. Photos on the website of the North’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed a missile lifting off.

KCNA quoted top official Ri Pyong Chol, who supervised the test, as saying that the new weapon “is of great significance in bolstering up the military power of the country and deterring all sorts of military threats existing on the Korean Peninsula.”

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.

The test-firings were the North’s first major provocation since Biden took office in January.

“We’re consulting with our allies and partners,” Biden told a news conference Thursday. “And there will be responses if they choose to escalate. We will respond accordingly. But I’m also prepared for some form of diplomacy, but it has to be conditioned upon the end result of denuclearization.”

The U.S. has asked for a meeting of the U.N. Security Council committee that monitors sanctions against North Korea, and it was set to take place Friday morning behind closed doors. The committee includes representatives from all 15 nations on the council.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who’s pursuing better ties with North Korea, issued a rare criticism of Pyongyang on Friday over the launches.

“I know very well our people have big worries about North Korea’s missile launches yesterday,” Moon said. “Now is time for South and North Korea and the United States to make efforts to (resume) talks.”

KCNA said the new weapon’s warhead weight has been improved to 2.5 tons. It said Thursday’s test also confirmed the reliability of the improved version of the weapon’s solid fuel engine, which would boost missile mobility, and of its low-altitude, maneuverable flight.

AHN YOUNG-JOON/AP South Koreans watch a file image of a North Korean missile launch during a news program on Thursday at the Suseo Railway Station in Seoul. The TV caption reads: “North Korea launches missiles.”