Washington: The US will explore diplomacy with North Korea and adopt a “practical approach,” the White House said on Friday.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters aboard Air Force One that the Biden administration had completed its policy review on North Korea, Xinhua news agency reported.
“Our policy will not focus on achieving a grand bargain, nor will it rely on strategic patience,” she said. “Our policy calls for a calibrated practical approach that is open to and will explore diplomacy with North Korea and to make practical progress that increases the security of the United States, our allies, and deployed forces.”
The term “strategic patience” and “grand bargain” refer to US policies toward North Korea under the administrations of Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
Psaki reaffirmed that the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula remains the policy goal, noting “the efforts of the past four administrations have not achieved this objective.”
She added that the United States would continue to consult with South Korea, Japan, and other allies and partners on this issue.
President Joe Biden last month told reporters that North Korea ranked the top foreign policy issue for his administration. The White House said the Biden administration had reached out to Pyongyang through several channels but had not yet received any response.
North Korea First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said in March that Pyongyang would ignore US outreach until Washington “rolls back its hostile policy.”
Denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington have been stalled since the summit talks between top North Korea leader Kim Jong Un and former US President Donald Trump ended without agreement in February 2019 at the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.
