US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) and South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong talks during a joint press conference of the two countries' leaders at the White House in Washington on Friday. Yonhap
The US has put the diplomatic ball in Pyongyang’s court, with its top diplomat stressing that Washington is prepared to engage with North Korea to discuss denuclearisation, but it remains uncertain whether the reclusive regime will respond.
“We are waiting to see if Pyongyang actually wants to engage. The ball is in their court,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with ABC on May 23, adding that Washington is prepared to pursue diplomacy with the North even as the sanctions remain in place.
Blinken’s remarks come after US President Joe Biden’s summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Washington on May 21. At the meeting Biden demonstrated a clear willingness to engage in dialogue with Pyongyang toward the goal of the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and said he would meet the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, under the right conditions.
The top diplomat echoed Biden’s stance that the best chance of achieving the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula was to “engage diplomatically with North Korea on a deliberate, calibrated approach where we seek to make progress toward that goal”.
“I don’t think there’s going to be a grand bargain where this gets resolved in one fell swoop. It’s got to be clearly calibrated diplomacy, clear steps from the North Koreans, and it moves forward in that way,” he added.
During May 21’s summit, Biden and Moon reaffirmed their commitment to diplomacy and dialogue with the recalcitrant regime, building on past agreements with the North, including the Panmunjom Declaration and the Singapore joint statement.
The allies’ efforts for peace on the peninsula and to push Pyongyang to give up nuclear weapons have been stalled since the collapse of the 2019 Hanoi talks between Kim and former President Donald Trump.
Signalling Washington’s readiness to resume talks with Pyongyang, Biden also appointed Sung Kim, a veteran Korean-American diplomat who led the US delegation at the six-party talks with the North, as a special envoy for North Korea.
Moon said on social media that Biden’s choice of Kim, who is well versed in the Korean Peninsula situation and negotiations with the North, and who can talk with North Koreans without an interpreter, represents Washington’s message to Pyongyang that it is ready for talks.
Unification minister Lee In-young on May 24 said the summit in Washington created “sufficient” conditions needed to resume the talks with North Korea, during a local radio interview.
Lee stressed that the conditions needed for the Koreas and the US to work actively to improve ties had been established, considering the possibility of future North Korea and US talks based on the Singapore agreement, and the US’ designation of the special envoy for the North.
Meanwhile, North Korea has kept mum on last week’s summit, raising speculation about whether and how the regime will respond to Washington’s call for talks.
As of May 24, North Korean state media outlets had not reported on the latest summit.
THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
