In his first press conference after taking office as the President of the United States on January 20, Joe Biden said Thursday America will “respond accordingly” if North Korea chooses to escalate its missile testing.

“We are consulting with our partners and allies,” Biden said. “And there will be responses if they choose to escalate. We will respond accordingly.”

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Biden told reporters although he was “prepared for some form of diplomacy” with North Korea, it “has to be conditioned upon the end result of denuclearisation.”

The stringent words of Biden come after North Korea fired two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea Thursday, the first substantive provocation to the new US administration.

Pyongyang is banned from developing any ballistic missiles under UN Security Council resolutions and is under multiple international sanctions over its weapons programs.

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Biden said the North had violated UN resolutions by testing “those particular missiles.”

The President also said that he agreed with then-President Barack Obama who warned in 2016 while leaving office that North Korea is the biggest foreign policy threat and issue, answering simply with an affirming “Yes”.