Blinken says US weighs pressure, diplomatic alternatives on North Korea
18 March, 2021
Both pressure and diplomatic options are on the table for working with North Korea, US Secretary of Status Antony Blinken said on Thursday (Mar 18), hours after a senior North Korean diplomat rejected any talks until Washington changed its policies.
Blinken told a joint briefing with South Korean officials on Seoul that the administration of President Joe Biden would total its overview of North Korea policy within the next few weeks in close consultation using its allies.
Both pressure and diplomatic options were being considered, he added, but declined to elaborate when asked what approach america would take after the review.
The comments came time after North Korean official Choe Son Hui called the Biden administration's attempts to get hold of Pyongyang a "low cost trick", in the North's first general public statement on the matter.
South Korean Overseas Minister Chung Eui-yong gestures following to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken prior to the Overseas and Defense Ministerial conference between South Korea and the US at the Overseas Ministry in Seoul, Southern Korea on Mar 18, 2021. (Image: Lee Jin-man/Pool area via Reuters)
Blinken was making his first check out to South Korea as secretary of status, alongside US Secretary of Protection Lloyd Austin.
They issued a joint statement with their South Korean counterparts, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Protection Minister Suh Wook, vowing to interact on regional issues from climate change and the coronavirus pandemic to trade and North Korea.
"The ministers and secretaries emphasized that North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile problems are a priority for the alliance, and reaffirmed a shared commitment to address and resolve these problems," they said on the statement.
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