U.S. Outreach to North Korea Has Gone Unanswered, White House Says Biden administration has sought a dialogue on Pyongyang’s nuclear-weapons and ballistic-missile programs
The Biden administration has reached out to North Korea to launch a dialogue on Pyongyang’s nuclear-weapons and ballistic-missile programs but has yet to receive a response, the White House said Monday.
“Our goal is to reduce the risk of escalation. But to date, we have not received any response,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. “Diplomacy continues to remain our first priority.”
Ms. Psaki didn’t explain how the Biden administration had tried to contact North Korea nor spell out what its message had been. The administration is currently conducting a review of its policy toward North Korea, which may be completed in coming weeks.
The U.S. has a number of ways to reach out to Pyongyang, including contact through North Korea’s mission to the United Nations, use of an intelligence channel the Obama administration established for sensitive communications with North Korea, and messages through Sweden, the U.S.’s “protecting power” in the country.
Washington and Pyongyang haven’t held nuclear talks since October 2019. The negotiations are held up over U.S. demands that North Korea give up its nuclear weapons program and long-range missiles in return for relief from U.S. sanctions.
Ms. Psaki said the administration has continued to engage with allies in Japan and South Korea as it crafts its own policy toward the region. She added that the U.S. hasn’t had an “active dialogue” with North Korea for more than a year.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are traveling separately to Japan and South Korea this week in what marks the first foreign trip for each. Concerns over China and North Korea are expected to be prominent on the agenda.
Reuters reported over the weekend that U.S. officials have sought since mid-February to reach counterparts in North Korea.
Former President Donald Trump met three times with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. But the two sides were never able to close the considerable gap in their position. North Korea asked for sanctions relief in return for limited steps to constrain its nuclear weapons program. The Trump administration insisted on a commitment to full denuclearization in return for major sanctions relief. With the talks stalled, Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs continued to advance.
President Biden, who has said a denuclearized North Korea remains the goal, has yet to spell out his approach. Mr. Blinken wrote in a 2018 article that the U.S. should consider a phased approach in which the U.S. sought to negotiate a freeze on North Korea’s nuclear program and then pursued a comprehensive denuclearization agreement—-an approach that sharply contrasted with Mr. Trump’s insistence on quick denuclearization. Whether such an approach might be agreed on during the Biden administration’s policy review is as yet unclear.
In general, the administration has stressed its interest in coordinating its North Korea policy with allies. As a candidate, Mr. Biden criticized Mr. Trump’s approach and said that he would only sit down with Mr. Kim “on the condition that he would agree that he would be drawing down his nuclear capacity.”
In January, Mr. Kim said the country’s approach to the U.S. will not change no matter who the president is.
“Our biggest enemy and main hurdle is the U.S.,” Mr. Kim said.
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