Kim Jong Un may greet Biden upon visit South Korea

North Korea appears to be planning to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) ahead of US President Joe Biden’s first official visit to South Korea, despite a wave of suspected Covid-19 infections, according to a US official.

According to the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the current intelligence indicates that North Korea might launch an ICBM as soon as Thursday or Friday.

Before visiting Japan, Biden is slated to travel to South Korea on Friday and conduct meetings with his South Korean colleagues for several days. Last week, the White House announced Biden was considering travelling to the Demilitarized Zone on the North Korean border.

A missile launch may overshadow Biden’s larger focus on China, trade, and other regional concerns, and highlight the lack of progress in denuclearization discussions, despite his administration’s pledge to break the impasse in realistic ways.

It might also make foreign aid to Pyongyang more difficult as the country fights its first verified covid epidemic.

Biden’s first trip to the area as president will include a meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who assumed office on May 10.

Yoon has promised to be tougher on North Korean “provocations,” and Biden is likely to give them more guarantees that the US will boost its “extended deterrence” against the North.

When questioned about the US assessment of a missile launch, a representative for Seoul’s defence ministry said that South Korea.

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