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- United States鈥� diplomacy with North Korea stalled over its nuclear program and US-led sanctions
SEOUL: President Joe Biden鈥檚 special envoy for North Korea said Monday he hopes to see a positive reaction from the North soon on US offers for talks after the North Korean leader ordered officials to prepare for both dialogue and confrontation.
Sung Kim, Biden鈥檚 special representative for North Korea, is in Seoul to speak with South Korean and Japanese officials about the United States鈥� stalled diplomacy with the North over its nuclear program and US-led sanctions.
The trilateral talks followed a North Korean political conference last week where leader Kim Jong Un called for stronger efforts to improve his nation鈥檚 economy, further battered last year by pandemic border closures and now facing worsening food shortages.
The US envoy Sung Kim said the allies took note of the North Korean leader鈥檚 comments and are hoping the North will respond positively to the proposal of a meeting.
鈥淲e continue to hope that the DPRK will respond positively to our outreach and our offer to meet anywhere, anytime without preconditions,鈥� Kim said during his meeting with South Korean and Japanese nuclear envoys, Noh Kyu-duk and Takehiro Funakoshi, respectively. He was referring to the North鈥檚 official name, the Democratic People鈥檚 Republic of Korea.
South Korea鈥檚 Foreign Ministry said the officials from the three countries reaffirmed a coordinated approach toward North Korea and shared commitment to work toward a quick resumption of dialogue.
North Korea鈥檚 economic setbacks followed the collapse of Kim Jong Un鈥檚 ambitious summitry with then-President Donald Trump in 2019, when the Americans rejected the North Koreans鈥� demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of their nuclear capabilities.
Kim Jong Un in recent political speeches has threatened to bolster his nuclear deterrent and claimed that the fate of diplomacy and bilateral relations depends on whether Washington abandons what he calls hostile policies.
US officials have suggested Biden would take the middle ground between Trump鈥檚 direct dealings with Kim and President Barack Obama鈥檚 policy of 鈥渟trategic patience.鈥� But some experts say the North likely must take concrete steps toward denuclearization before the Biden administration would ease any sanctions.
South Korea, which is eager for inter-Korean engagement, has expressed optimism about a quick resumption of diplomacy.
Seoul鈥檚 Unification Ministry said Kim鈥檚 comments during a ruling party meeting last week, where he said he expected both dialogue and confrontation with the United States, demonstrated a flexibility toward diplomacy.
But others saw Kim鈥檚 comments as merely a reiteration of Pyongyang鈥檚 wait-and-see stance of insisting Washington budge and offer concessions first.
While Kim urged officials to boost agricultural production and brace for prolonged COVID-19 restrictions, none of the decisions reported after the party meeting seemed directly related to facilitating talks with the United States.
While displaying an openness to talks, the Biden administration has provided little detail about its policy on North Korea beyond a long-term principle of taking a 鈥渃alibrated and practical approach鈥� on diplomacy while simultaneously upholding sanctions against the country.
Thae Yong Ho, a former North Korean diplomat who defected and was elected a South Korean lawmaker, posted on Facebook that Kim鈥檚 comments at the party meeting seemed tailored to mirror what the Biden administration has said about the North.
鈥淎dvocates of engagement see Kim Jong Un鈥檚 recent mention of dialogue as a sign North Korea is opening the door for talks, but Pyongyang has not yet expressed a willingness for working-level negotiations on denuclearization,鈥� said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
He said the North may return to negotiations only after demonstrating its strength with post-pandemic economic recovery and provocative military tests, which could possibly come later this summer when the United States and South Korea usually hold their combined military exercises. The allies describe the drills as defensive in nature, but the North claims they are invasion rehearsals.