TOKYO
\nUS President Joe Biden arrived on Sunday in Japan for the second leg of an Asia trip underlining US commitment to the region but overshadowed by concern that North Korea will test a nuclear weapon after ignoring Washington\u2019s attempt at outreach.
\nBiden, making his first trip to Asia as president, flew from South Korea into Yokota Air Base outside Tokyo, where he met with Japan\u2019s Prime Minister (PM) Fumio Kishida and emperor on Monday, as well as unveiling a US-led multilateral trade initiative.
\nOn Tuesday, he reinforces the theme of American leadership in the Asia-Pacific by joining the leaders of Australia, India and Japan for a summit of the Quad group.
\nThe trip, which comes as rival China is experiencing significant economic disruption due to Covid outbreaks, has been touted by Washington as a display of US determination to maintain its commercial and military edge across the region.
\nBut hanging over every step of Biden\u2019s tour is fear that unpredictable North Korea will test a nuclear-capable missile or a bomb.
\nSpeculation that this might even happen while Biden was just across the border in Seoul did not materialise. However, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that the threat remains.
\nEchoing Biden\u2019s earlier statement that the United States is \u201cprepared for anything North Korea does\u201d, Sullivan said the dictatorship has a choice.
\n\u201cIf North Korea acts, we\u2019ll be prepared to respond. If North Korea doesn\u2019t act, North Korea has the opportunity, as we\u2019ve said repeatedly, to come to the table.\u201d
\nPyongyang has so far declined to answer US appeals for dialogue, officials say, even ignoring offers of help to combat a sudden mass outbreak of Covid-19, according to Biden.
\nAnd while in Seoul, Biden confirmed he was prepared to meet with Kim Jong Un if the leader-for-life is \u201csincere\u201d, but Sullivan said that remains far off.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re not even at step one yet,\u201d he said.
\nSymbolising the apparent one-way conversation, Biden said the only message he has right now for Kim would consist of a single word: \u201cHello. Period,\u201d he said.
\nBiden spent two days with South Korea\u2019s new President Yoon Suk-yeol, with beefing up the military defence against North Korea high on the agenda.
\nThey issued a statement on Saturday saying that \u201cconsidering the evolving threat\u201d from Pyongyang, they were looking at expanding the \u201cscope and scale\u201d of joint US-South Korean military exercises.
\nJoint exercises had been scaled back due to Covid and for Biden and Yoon\u2019s predecessors, Donald Trump and Moon Jae-in, to embark on a round of high-profile but ultimately unsuccessful diplomacy with North Korea.
\nIn contrast to the dovish Moon, Yoon said he and Biden discussed possibl e \u201cjoint drills to prepare for a nuclear attack\u201d and called for more US assets to be deployed to the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TOKYO US President Joe Biden arrived on Sunday in Japan for the second leg of an Asia trip underlining US commitment to the region but overshadowed by concern that North Korea will test a nuclear weapon after ignoring Washington\u2019s attempt at outreach. Biden, making his first trip to Asia as president, flew from South Korea […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":262258,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[605,503,3942],"class_list":{"0":"post-262271","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-japan","9":"tag-joe-biden","10":"tag-north-korea"},"yoast_head":"\n