US President Joe Biden’s point man for North Korea yesterday said that the US was ready for talks “anywhere, anytime” with Pyongyang, providing a strong signal Washington is prepared to revive a stagnant disarmament dialogue.
US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim said after discussions in Seoul with South Korean Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affair Noh Kyu-duk and Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Director-General Takehiro Funakoshi that the Biden administration’s policy calls for “a calibrated, practical approach,” which includes possible diplomacy with North Korea.
“We continue to hope that the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] will respond positively to our outreach and our offer to meet anywhere, anytime, without preconditions,” Kim said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
He also said that the US is to press ahead with UN sanctions put in place to punish North Korea for its tests of nuclear devices and missiles that could carry warheads to the US mainland.
The meeting was the first among the envoys since Biden took office. It came just days after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said that the nation is ready for “both dialogue and confrontation,” offering the highest-level opening for discussions since Biden replaced former US president Donald Trump, who met Kim Jong-un three times.
However, Kim Jong-un tempered his comments at a meeting of his ruling party with a call to “get fully prepared for confrontation in order to protect the dignity of our state and its interests.”
“We took note of Chairman Kim’s recent statement, referring to both dialogue and confrontation. We will be prepared for either,” Sung Kim said ahead of the three-way meeting.
“It’s a good sign that Sung Kim’s reiterating Washington’s existing position that it is, and has always been, ready to talk. The problem is North Korea doesn’t seem ready,” said Kim Du-yeon, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security in Seoul. “It’s increasingly clear through their actions that they do not want to risk their survival during a pandemic by holding direct talks.”
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