BIDEN MENTIONS N. KOREA AND CHINA

[Anchor Lead]

U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States will respond accordingly should North Korea continue to escalate tension. On US-China relations, he cited democracy versus autocracy and said that China will not surpass the U.S. as global leader on his watch.

[Pkg]

In his first formal press conference since taking office 64 days ago, U.S. President Joe Biden pointed out North Korea’s latest ballistic missile launch violates UNSC resolutions.
He said Washington is consulting with allies and partners and vowed to take corresponding measures against further escalation of tension.

[Soundbite] Joe Biden(U.S. Pres.)

When former President Barack Obama came into office, he considered North Korea a priority foreign policy task. When asked about the current assessment, Biden gave this response.

[Soundbite] "(Is that how you assess the crisis in North Korea?) Yes."

Biden added he is ready for some form of diplomacy but emphasized it "has to be conditioned upon the end result of denuclearization." Regarding China, the American leader described Washington-Beijing relations as a battle between democracy and autocracy.

[Soundbite] Joe Biden(U.S. Pres.)

He said China has an overall goal to become the leading country in the world and the most powerful country in the world but that’s not going to happen on his watch because the U.S. will continue to grow. Regarding American troops in Afghanistan, Biden said they are not staying for a long time and will leave and the question is when, but it will be difficult to meet the May 1st deadline for tactical reasons.