Asia trip
Before President Joe Biden concluded a visit to South Korea on Sunday, he offered a brief message to the nuclear-armed dictator to the north, who US officials believe could be preparing for a provocation during the US leader's visit to Asia."Hello," Biden said when asked his message for Kim Jong Un. "Period."

The succinct greeting reflected the Biden administration's so-far-unsuccessful attempts at restarting diplomacy with Pyongyang. Attempts at outreach to the North have gone mostly unanswered. Instead, Kim has intensified missile launches and could be preparing for a seventh underground nuclear test.

Biden, who touched down in Tokyo early Sunday evening, said he was prepared for such contingencies to occur during his first trip to Asia. "We are prepared for anything North Korea does. We've had — thought through how we're going to respond to whatever they do. And so I'm not concerned," Biden said.

 He was speaking before visiting with some of the nearly 30,000 American service members stationed here as a last stop on his visit to South Korea.