North Korea unresponsive to behind-the-scenes Biden administration outreach: US official
14 March, 2021
North Korea hasn't taken care of immediately behind-the-scenes diplomatic outreach since mid-February by President Joe Biden's administration, including to Pyongyang's objective to the US, a good senior Biden administration official told Reuters on Saturday (Mar 13).
The disclosure of the so-far unsuccessful US outreach, which has not been previously reported, raises questions about how precisely Biden will address mounting tensions with Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
It also adds a new dimension to a check out America's leading diplomat and security secretary will make in a few days to South Korea and Japan, where concerns more than North Korea's nuclear arsenal are anticipated to be on top of the agenda.
The senior Biden administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, offered few information on the diplomatic push. However the established said there have been efforts to attain out to the North Korean authorities "through several channels starting in mid-February, including in New York".
"To date, we've not received any response from Pyongyang," the state said.
North Korea's objective to the US did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Biden administration has up to now been cautious in publicly describing its approach to North Korea, saying it is following a comprehensive policy review following former President Donald Trump's unprecedented engagement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump's efforts didn't persuade North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons.
The Biden administration official said it appeared there have been no active dialogue between the United States and North Korea for greater than a year, including at the end of Trump's administration, "despite multiple attempts throughout that time by america to engage."
The US official declined to take a position about how the silence from Pyongyang would impact the Biden administration's North Korea policy review, that was likely to be completed in the coming weeks.
During his election plan, Biden described Kim because a "thug" and said he would only meet him "on the problem that he would agree that he would end up being drawing down his nuclear potential."
US Secretary of Talk about Antony Blinken has placed out the opportunity of additional sanctions, in coordination with allies, to press North Korea to denuclearize.
Sanctions have so far didn't convince Kim to give up his nuclear weapons.
Blinken is slated to host the primary face-to-deal with discussions between senior Biden administration and Chinese officials on March 18 in Alaska. The Trump administration accused China of failing to enforce sanctions against North Korea.
A confidential UN report discovered that North Korea maintained and developed its nuclear and ballistic missile programs throughout 2020 found in violation of international sanctions, helping fund them with lots of US$300 million stolen through cyber hacks.
The report by independent sanctions monitors said Pyongyang "produced fissile material, taken care of nuclear facilities and upgraded its ballistic missile infrastructure" while continuing to seek materials and technology for those programs from abroad.
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