Almost two months after Joe Biden took office, North Korea has finally acknowledged the new US president. However, unlike with his predecessors, it wasn't with a missile, but a vow to keep ignoring Washington.

AFP takes a look at the country's intentions and what its next moves might be.

What does North Korea want?

US officials say they have attempted to reach out to Pyongyang through "several channels" in recent weeks, with no response.

Dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington has been deadlocked since the collapse of the 2019 Hanoi summit North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then US president Donald Trump over sanctions relief.

The North issued two separate statements by top officials this week, with first vice foreign minister Choe Son Hui demanding the US withdraw its "hostile policy" against her country.

"It had better drop the cheap trick by which it tries to use the DPRK-US contact as a means for gaining time," she said.

Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korea studies at Ewha Womans University, told AFP: "North Korea is making it clear that it will not come to talks unless the US offers concessions first."

But by not laying out a specific precondition to talks, he added, Pyongyang was "showing flexibility".

Why is it speaking out now?

North Korea has not directly addressed the new US administration until this week. The timing is clearly linked to the visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin to Asia.

"It's a way for Pyongyang to set the tone without overtly appealing for the Biden administration's attention," Soo Kim, a former CIA analyst now with the RAND Corporation, told AFP.

"The regime is also trying to reiterate that it calls the shots in the game, lest anyone has forgotten," she said.

Will Pyongyang start testing missiles again?

The first missile test after president Barack Obama's January 2009 inauguration came in early April, while Donald Trump had to contend with a launch only three weeks after being sworn in.

The North has made rapid progress with its nuclear and missile programmes under Kim and unveiled a new submarine-launched ballistic missile at a military parade in January.

Kim abandoned his self-declared moratorium on nuclear tests or ICBM launches in January 2020, but even so Pyongyang has confined itself to short-range missile tests since then, the last of them a year ago.

Speculation about North Korean missile launches emerges regularly, but it could also choose lower-level actions such as static engine tests.

Go Myong-hyun of the Asan Institute of Policy Studies said Pyongyang was waiting for the right timing to "ensure legitimacy for provocation".

How are things in North Korea?

The coronavirus pandemic has added to the pressures on the North, with Pyongyang closing its borders and blockading itself far more effectively than even the most hawkish backer of sanctions could ever hope to achieve.

Trade has plummeted and several foreign embassies withdrawn their staff.

Pyongyang insists it has not had a single case of the disease -- observers doubt the claim -- but the self-isolation has put further strain on the economy, along with sanctions and summer floods.

"They are in a tough situation for sure," said scholar Park. "That in turn could heighten their need for a breakthrough with Washington."

Why hasn't Pyongyang mentioned Joe Biden yet?

Pyongyang is notorious for its nasty name-calling of US presidents: it called Barack Obama a "monkey" and referred to Donald Trump was a "mentally-deranged dotard" at the height of tensions in 2017.

Before Biden was nominated as candidate, the North's state media called him "a rabid dog" who should be beaten to death, but it has not even mentioned the new US president by name since his election.

"When North Korea mentions a president by name, it must be clear whether it is insulting him or praising him," said Go, adding Pyongyang was still assessing the new administration.

The North's rhetoric has so far been relatively restrained, and Soo Kim said it may hesitate to provoke a confrontation that would result in a "rigid and inflexible" US stance.

"With four years remaining of Biden's term, I don't think Kim wants to take this big of a leap just yet," she said.

Does Pyongyang miss Donald Trump?

Trump's unorthodox approach to foreign policy saw him trade insults and threats of war with the North Korean leader before an extraordinary diplomatic bromance and a series of summits and meetings.

Analysts say Pyongyang likely has mixed feelings over the Republican.

Trump's absence ruled out any possibilities of "gratuitous summits", said former CIA analyst Soo Kim.

"Perhaps not Trump the person, but the fact that dealing with the US was a cakewalk under the Trump administration," she added.

The North at one time saw Trump as an "opportunity for a breakthrough", noted professor Park, but struggled to deal with his unpredictability.

"In contrast, Biden's policy is very predictable," Park told AFP.

"Whether they prefer an unpredictable Trump or a predictable Biden is hard to put your finger on."

North Korea says will ignore US while 'hostile policy' in place
Seoul (AFP) March 18, 2021 - North Korea accused the new US administration of adopting "lunatic theory" Thursday, ruling out any engagement with Washington unless it changed course, as President Joe Biden's top envoys held talks in Seoul.

The comments from the North's first vice foreign minister Choe Son Hui came with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin in the South on the second leg of an Asian tour to bolster a united front against the nuclear-armed North and an increasingly assertive China.

After Seoul, Blinken will head to Anchorage, Alaska for the new administration's first talks with China's top diplomats, with Beijing and Washington at loggerheads over issues ranging from trade to rights to territorial disputes.

In a statement carried by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency, Choe said there could be no contact nor dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang "unless the US rolls back its hostile policy" towards her country.

The "new regime" in the US, she added, had only put forward a "lunatic theory of 'threat from north Korea' and groundless rhetoric about 'complete denuclearisation'".

The talks process between then president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un deadlocked after their second summit in Hanoi in early 2019 broke up over sanctions relief and what Pyongyang would be willing to give up in return.

The North remains subject to sanctions over its banned weapons programmes, but has also voluntarily closed its borders for more than a year to try to protect itself against the coronavirus pandemic that first emerged in neighbouring China.

The new US administration is carrying out a review of Washington's policy towards the North, and after the US envoys met their South Korean counterparts Blinken re-iterated the US goal of "the denuclearisation of North Korea".

He added that in Anchorage he would press Beijing, Pyongyang's key diplomatic ally and main trading partner, to intervene, saying China had a "critical role" to play.

"It has tremendous influence. And I think it has a shared interest in making sure we do something about North Korea's nuclear programme."

But the Alaska talks will be dominated by the differences between Beijing and Washington.

The Biden administration has generally backed the tougher approach to Beijing initiated by Trump, and is looking to shore up alliances to rein in China's regional rise while co-operating on priorities such as climate change.

Beijing warned Thursday it would make no concessions to the US on key issues including human rights in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

"China has no room for compromise on issues concerning its sovereignty, security and core interests," foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters.

- No response -

In Seoul the US envoys oversaw the signing of a new agreement on South Korea's payments towards the costs of the 28,500 US troops stationed in the country to defend it from its neighbour and protect Washington's regional interests.

They also met with President Moon Jae-in, who brokered the talks process between Kim and Trump.

The Republican's unorthodox approach to foreign policy saw the two leaders trade insults and threats of war before an extraordinary diplomatic bromance that saw a series of headline-grabbing meetings, beginning in Singapore.

But ultimately no progress was made towards Washington's declared aim of denuclearising North Korea.

Shortly before Biden's January inauguration, leader Kim decried the US as his country's "foremost principal enemy" and Pyongyang unveiled a new submarine-launched ballistic missile at a military parade.

It had maintained silence during the first weeks of the Biden administration, with state media not even mentioning the new US leadership until this week.

Choe said Thursday that for talks to take place, Pyongyang and Washington would have to meet as equals.

"We make it clear that we won't give it such opportunities as in Singapore and Hanoi again," she said.

Since mid-February, Washington has attempted to reach out to Pyongyang through several channels, officials say, but not received any response.

So far, the North has refrained from carrying out any direct provocations since Biden was inaugurated, but is now beginning to amplify its rhetoric.

Seoul and Washington are security allies and kicked off joint military exercises last week, prompting the North Korean leader's influential sister Kim Yo Jong to warn the new US administration against "causing a stink at its first step" if it wants to "sleep in peace for coming four years".

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North Korea says will ignore US while 'hostile policy' in place
Seoul (AFP) March 18, 2021
North Korea accused the new US administration of adopting "lunatic theory" Thursday, saying it would ignore attempts at dialogue by Washington unless it changed course, as President Joe Biden's top envoys held talks in Seoul. The comments from the North's first vice foreign minister Choe Son Hui came with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin in the South on the second leg of an Asian tour to bolster a united front against the nuclear-armed North and an increasingly as ... read more