Tensions remain high between North Korea and U.S. after President Joe Biden told Congress Wednesday that the authoritarian country remains a "serious threat" to the U.S. and the world. Biden's comments came after Donald Trump's contentious and inconsistent relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Biden briefly touched on the administration's plans on keeping its hostile policy against North Korea and cited that he would work with allies to address the North Korean threat through “diplomacy” and “stern deterrence.”

"On Iran and North Korea, nuclear programs present serious threats to American security and the security of the world. We’re going to be working closely with our allies to address the threats posed by both of these countries through diplomacy as well as stern deterrence," Biden said.

North Korea on Sunday fired back at Biden's statements with a vague statement. Kwon Jong Gun, a senior North Korean Foreign Ministry official, warned that the U.S. faces a “very grave situation.”

“His statement clearly reflects his intent to keep enforcing the hostile policy toward the DPRK as it had been done by the U.S. for over half a century,” he said in a statement.

“It is certain that the U.S. chief executive made a big blunder in the light of the present-day viewpoint,” Kwon said. “Now that the keynote of the U.S. new DPRK policy has become clear, we will be compelled to press for corresponding measures, and with time the U.S. will find itself in a very grave situation.”

Kim announced in January that he was planning to produce more “high-tech” weapons, as well as grow a nuclear arsenal that would be used to target the U.S. if the hostile policy wasn't eased.

“If Pyongyang agrees to working-level talks, the starting point of negotiations would be a freeze of North Korean testing and development of nuclear capabilities and delivery systems,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. “If, on the other hand, Kim shuns diplomacy and opts for provocative tests, Washington will likely expand sanctions enforcement and military exercises with allies.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced on Friday that Biden plans on attacking this issue somewhere in the middle of his predecessors. Trump attempted to "grand bargain" with North Korea after Barack Obama tried "strategic patience."

The United States held three-way talks with South Korea and Japan on how to handle North Korea, whose leader Kim Jong-Un is seen on a television screen in Seoul in March 2021
The United States held three-way talks with South Korea and Japan on how to handle North Korea, whose leader Kim Jong-Un is seen on a television screen in Seoul in March 2021 AFP / Jung Yeon-je
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