The Biden administration has been in contact with the North Korean side since mid-February, but has not received a response from the North. A senior Biden Administration official told Reuters on Saturday (March 13). The senior official said the administration has tried to reach out to North Korea privately through multiple channels of dialogue, including diplomatic contacts with Pyongyang’s mission to the United Nations.
This is the first Time since the Biden administration took office in January that there has been news of contact with North Korea that has gone unanswered. The unnamed official did not specify how the lack of a response from North Korea might affect the U.S. government’s assessment of its policy toward North Korea. However, North Korea’s “indifference” to U.S. attempts to reach out has raised questions about how Biden will address growing tensions with Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
U.S. Secretary of State John Blinken and Defense Secretary John Austin are scheduled to visit Japan and South Korea from March 15 to 18 to open a dialogue. Japanese and South Korean concerns about North Korea’s nuclear arsenal will be among the key topics of the dialogue.
Observers note that the Biden administration has so far been cautious in articulating its position on North Korea in public, saying at most that the U.S. is conducting a comprehensive policy assessment following former President Donald Trump‘s contacts with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The assessment is expected to be completed in the next few weeks.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump met with Kim Jong Un three times during his presidency but was not able to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. Since then, the top official said, it appears the U.S. has not had an active dialogue with North Korea for more than a year.
On the campaign trail, Biden described Kim Jong Un as a “thug” and said he would meet with him only if he “agreed to reduce his nuclear capabilities.
Secretary of State John Blinken said earlier that the Biden administration is considering coordinating with allies to impose new sanctions on North Korea to force the country to denuclearize. Current sanctions have failed to get Kim Jong Un to give up his nuclear weapons.
The U.S. and China are scheduled to hold a 2+2 dialogue in Alaska on March 18. At that time, U.S. Secretary of State John Blinken and National Security Adviser Sullivan will hold their first face-to-face meeting since the Biden administration took office with Yang Jiechi, a member of the Communist Party’s Political Bureau in charge of foreign affairs, and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The Trump Administration accuses China of failing to enforce sanctions against North Korea. A confidential U.N. report shows that North Korea has maintained and developed a nuclear ballistic missile program throughout 2020 in violation of international sanctions, and has stolen about $300 million through cyber hacking to fund those programs.
The report, which was investigated by independent sanctions monitors, states that Pyongyang “produced fissile material, maintained nuclear facilities and upgraded ballistic missile infrastructure” while continuing to source materials and technology for these programs from abroad.
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