US extends declaration of national emergency over North Korean ‘threat’

ISTANBUL (AA) – US President Joe Biden said “it is necessary to continue the national emergency” over North Korea’s “unusual and extraordinary threat,” according to a White House statement on Tuesday.

In a message sent to Congress, Biden said: “The existence and risk of the proliferation of weapons‑usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula; the actions and policies of the Government of North Korea that destabilize the Korean Peninsula and imperil United States Armed Forces, allies, and trading partners in the region, including its pursuit of nuclear and missile programs; and other provocative, destabilizing, and repressive actions and policies of the Government of North Korea, continue to constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”

He added, “For this reason, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13466 with respect to North Korea,” he said, referring to an order first made in 2008 and renewed several times since.

According to the statement, a national emergency declaration is slated for automatic termination unless, within 90 days preceding its declaration anniversary, the president publishes in the Federal Register and sends to Congress a notice declaring that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date.