North Korea Missile Tests Have White House Alarmed

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday the Biden administration remains concerned North Korea will move forward with another intercontinental ballistic missile test.

"I have been concerned for some time that North Korea would conduct what would be its seventh nuclear test," Sullivan said during an interview with CBS.

"I don't see any immediate indications that's going to happen, but it would not come as a surprise if North Korea moves forward with another test with respect to its intercontinental ballistic missile capability," he said.

In June, North Korea fired two short-range missiles off its east coast as Sullivan met his Japanese and South Korean counterparts in Tokyo.

A spokesperson for North Korea's Ministry of National Defense had said back then that drills conducted by South Korea and the United States were escalating the military tension in the region and its forces would respond to "any kind of protests or provocations by enemies."

North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs are banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions that have sanctioned the country.

Diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions or persuade Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear arsenal have been stalled.