The United States considers that there is a “real possibility” that North Korea proceed to a new missile fire or “a nuclear test” during the president’s tour Joe Biden for Asia, one of his advisers said on Wednesday.

On the eve of leaving Biden for a diplomatic tour in the region, “we are prepared for all eventualities, including such a provocation while we are in Corea South and Japan said Jake Sullivan, White House adviser for national security.

Sullivan stated that North Korea which has defied the UN by carrying out several missile tests in the past, could use the Biden to carry out “provocations”.

These could be “further missile tests, long-range missile tests, or a nuclear test, or frankly both, in the days before, during, or after the president’s trip to the region,” he added.

The Biden administration “stands ready to make short-term or long-term adjustments to our military arrangements to ensure we can exercise deterrence to protect our allies in the region and our ability to respond.”

Sullivan said a potential response had been coordinated with South Korea and Japan and that the subject had also been discussed last Wednesday with China.

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