The US on Sunday made a direct appeal to North Korea to join direct talks with no preconditions about its nuclear and missile programs, after Pyongyang sent a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile into space. “We believe it is completely appropriate and completely correct to start having some serious discussions,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters. Under Joe Biden, the US has repeatedly sought talks with North Korea but has been rebuffed. The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, held three summits with Donald Trump but the talks did not realize Kim’s demand for a removal of sanctions. The Biden official said the latest North Korean test was part of an “increasingly destabilizing” pattern and in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions and therefore international law. The official spoke after North Korea conducted its largest missile test since 2017. The launch was seen as a step closer to resuming long-range testing. The US official said “of course we’re concerned” that Pyongyang might do so and end a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear testing. “It requires a response,” he said. “You will see us taking some steps that are designed to show our commitment to our allies … and at the same time we reiterate our call for diplomacy. We stand ready and we are very serious about trying to have discussions that address concerns on both sides.” The missile fired on Sunday appeared to be the most powerful since Biden took office, as Pyongyang revives its playbook of brinkmanship to wrest concessions. The Japanese and South Korean militaries said the missile was launched on a high trajectory, apparently to avoid the territorial spaces of neighbors, and reached a maximum altitude of 2,000km (1,242 miles) and traveled 800km (497 miles) before landing in the sea. The flight details suggest the longest-range missile since 2017, when North Korea twice flew ballistic missiles over Japan and, separately, three that showed potential to reach deep into the US. North Korea has launched seven times this month. Kim has showed no willingness to surrender nuclear weapons and missiles. Analysts say he aims to force Washington to accept the North as a nuclear power and convert nuclear disarmament-for-aid diplomacy into negotiations for mutual arms reduction. In his strongest comments in years, the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, said the situation was beginning to resemble 2017, which saw an exchange of war threats between Kim and Trump. Moon said the North’s moves were a “challenge toward the international community’s efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, stabilize peace and find a diplomatic solution”. The North “should stop its actions that create tensions and pressure and respond to the dialogue offers by the international community including South Korea and the United States”, Moon said. Experts say the North could halt its testing spree for the Beijing Winter Olympics next week, out of respect for China, its economic lifeline. But there is also expectation that it could significantly up the ante once the Games end, to grab the attention of the US, which has been focusing on China and Russia. “North Korea is launching a frenzy of missiles before the start of the Beijing Olympics, mostly as military modernization efforts,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. “Pyongyang also wants to boost national pride as it gears up to celebrate political anniversaries in the context of economic struggles. “It wants to remind Washington and Seoul that trying to topple it would be too costly. By threatening stability in Asia while global resources are stretched thin elsewhere, Pyongyang is demanding the world compensate it to act like a ‘responsible nuclear power’.” The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said Washington had imposed sanctions and was looking at other options. “We are open to having diplomatic discussions. We have offered this over and over to the DPRK. And they have not accepted it,” Thomas-Greenfield told ABC. “Our goal is to end the threatening actions that [North Korea] is taking against their neighbors.”