North Korea conducts first weapons test of Biden presidency

North Korea tested a "short-range system" over the weekend, its first known weapons test during the Biden presidency, senior administration officials confirmed on Tuesday. While the officials did not elaborate on the types of tests, citing classification issues, they said it was "normal" activity for North Korea and the actions were not covered under United Nations Security Council resolutions that put limits on the country's nuclear program.

The activity over the weekend does not close the door for diplomatic engagement with North Korea, the officials said. They stressed that the U.S. was on its "forward foot in terms of wanting to clearly signal that we are prepared for continuing engagement in Northeast Asia with key partners and, indeed, with North Korea."  Still, a senior administration official said there had been "no active dialogue" with North Korea despite "multiple attempts" by the U.S. to engage with them over the past year during both the Biden and the Trump administrations.