The following article is an opinion piece by Daniel DePetris. Views expressed in opinion articles are exclusively the author’s own and do not represent those of NK News.

With the Biden administration continuing to manage the fallout from last month’s U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the last thing the White House needed was an unannounced missile test in Northeast Asia.

On Sept. 11 and 12, Pyongyang conducted its first missile launches in approximately six months, sending what the reclusive country described as a long-range cruise missile to a target some 930 miles away. 

Days later, Pyongyang launched two ballistic missiles