US explores fresh approach in order to develop its policy towards North Korea

Last updated on March 17th, 2021 at 05:18 am

On Sunday, US administration confirmed that the new Presidency under Joe Biden has initiated attempts to reach out to North Korea to convince the Asian nation for denuclearization. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior US official said that the government made efforts “through several channels starting in mid-February, including in New York.” He added, “To date, we have not received any response from Pyongyang. This follows over a year without active dialogue with North Korea, despite multiple attempts by the United States to engage.”

Biden administration has called for a thorough review of US policy towards North Korea with an aim to avoid “risks of escalation” of tensions between the two nations. The official said that the review is expected to be submitted in coming weeks and would include analysis of “all available options to address the increasing threat posed by North Korea.” Kim Jong Un’s nation has been actively engaged in developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, despite international sanctions.

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The two nations, who have been at loggerheads, showed signs of hope during Donald Trump’s administration as leaders of both leaders held multiple rounds of talks but not much was achieved at the end of both Singapore and Vietnam summit, held in 2018 and 2019 respectively. During his election campaign, Biden called the North Korean premier a thug and said that he would meet him only “on the condition that he would agree that he would be drawing down his nuclear capacity.” The US leader, like his predecessor, pressed the need for the peninsular nation to adopt nuclear disarmament.

Kim declined the proposed nuclear disarmament plan put across by previous US administration and accused Washington of following “hostile policies” towards Pyongyang. As an act of defiance, Kim hasn’t even acknowledged Biden as new US president. US now plans on turning to its East Asian allies including Japan and South Korea to explore fresh approach in its pursuit to develop effective foreign policy towards North Korea. The US official said, “We have listened carefully to their ideas, including through trilateral consultations.” His statement came ahead of the US and Japanese foreign and defense chiefs’ meet, to be held in Tokyo on Tuesday. According to a recent UN report, that North Korean leader continued the nuclear and ballistic missile programs throughout 2020, coming in direct violation of international sanctions. The nation has been accused to accumulating about $300 million through multiple cyber attacks made to facilitate funding of its nuclear programs. The report by independent sanctions watchdog, said Pyongyang “produced fissile material, maintained nuclear facilities and upgraded its ballistic missile infrastructure” despite sanctions.