The US and North Korea remain on a collision course after President Joe Biden renewed sanctions against Pyongyang. As a result, North Korea warned it might take “fiercer” military action.

North Korea said in a statement on Monday that it had issued a warning in response to trilateral talks between the US, South Korea, and Japan during the weekend ASEAN summit. During the meeting, US President Joe Biden reaffirmed a commitment to extend deterrence and defend South Korea and Japan with a “full range of capabilities,” including nuclear weapons.

North Korea on Thursday tested a ballistic missile, warning the United States of a “fiercer military counteraction” in response to Washington’s strengthened defense ties with South Korea and Japan, which are at their highest level in decades.

Choe Son-hui
Choe Son-hui (Source: U.S. Department of State/Wikimedia)

Choe Son Hui, North Korea’s foreign minister, said in a statement released by the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) that America’s attempt to strengthen extended deterrence to its allies in the region “is gambling for which it will certainly regret.” Choe also warns that the more dominant US presence becomes in the region, “the fiercer (North Korean) military counteraction will be, in direct proportion to it.”