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President Joe Biden landed in Phnom Penh on Saturday for the second leg of his international journey, with North Korea’s escalating missile launches and Russia’s war in Ukraine providing a tense backdrop for the confab.
Biden is here for the annual ASEAN summit of Southeast Asian nations, but war in Europe and a nuclear threat to key allies and the US mainland are looming.
As a demonstration of the threat, Biden plans to team up with two key partners, South Korea and Japan, following a series of provocative North Korean ballistic missile tests.
Experts have expressed concern about the Hwasong-17 ICBM fired by North Korea on Nov. 2. A larger missile could reach the US mainland while containing multiple warheads.
President Joe Biden begins two days of meetings with world leaders at ASEAN summit in Cambodia
US officials are not ruling out what could be North Korea’s seventh nuclear test. Dictator Kim Jong-un has a history of using high-profile events to attract attention and exert influence through displays of military prowess.
National Security Council adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters en route to Cambodia that the leaders would talk specifically about “the threats posed by North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs.”
This would happen in bilateral meetings as well as in a three-way meeting.
Sullivan has specifically pointed to the prospect of North Korea conducting its seventh nuclear test “at some point in this broader time frame,” citing Biden’s trip.
“And by ‘broader’ I mean we’ve been talking about this for a few months now. That window is still open. Our concerns are still real. Whether it will happen in the next week or not, I can’t say,” he said last week.
He mentioned the potential of both long-range missile tests and the possibility of a nuclear test.
We are also concerned about further possible tests with long-range missiles, in addition to the possibility of a nuclear test, along with the cyber threat posed by the hermetic country, which sent artillery shells to Russia during its war against Ukraine.
Biden and Foreign Secretary Antony Blinken to meet key allies over North Korea
It’s the start of a multi-day Asia trip for Biden
‘We work closely with both the ROK and Japan. And the trilateral meeting that the three leaders will be able to hold on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit will, I believe, be an important milestone in the trilateral relationship and will only help strengthen coordination in North Korea.
North Korea’s threat will also be a top priority when Biden sits down in Bali with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Sullivan said Biden would raise the issue of China’s self-interest. And if North Korea continues to follow this path, it simply means further strengthening the US military and security presence in the region. And so the People’s Republic of China has an interest in playing a constructive role in curbing the worst tendencies in North Korea. Whether they choose to do so or not is, of course, up to them.’
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrives at the ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, November 11, 2022. US allies huddle over China’s role, the war in Ukraine and the threat posed by North Korea
Experts fear North Korea is developing a ‘monster’ ICBM
North Korea isn’t just threatening US allies in the region. Government says dictator Kim Jong-un is supplying Russia with weapons for its war against Ukraine
Kim has a history of making provocative moves when the US and allied nations come together
A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea’s missile launch during a news program at the Seoul train station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, November 4, 2022
North Korea has carried out a series of missile launches in recent weeks. Officials don’t rule out a seventh nuclear test by the hermetic nation
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is welcomed by Cambodian President Hun Sen, who hosts the event
As for Russia, Ukraine and Russia have made renewed efforts to negotiate, even as Russia appears to have abandoned the city of Kherson, which it captured during the February invasion.
“He will be very clear throughout the journey that there will be strong, continued, unwavering, unwavering support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression,” Sullivan said.
China’s ongoing challenge is also a common challenge for US allies. Like South Korea and Japan, the US ally Australia sends its leader,