And at a Saturday press conference here, he didn’t seem very eager about a handshake with North Korean autocrats.
“It’s going to depend on whether he’s sincere and if he’s serious,” Biden said when asked if he’d be open to meeting Kim.
The days of flashy leaders and leaders summits and other photo-ops have defined President Donald Trump’s diplomatic strides with North Korea and raised his profile. Kim is gone. Efforts are a great bargain, so is the “everything for everything” denuclearization agreement.
Instead, Biden administration officials focused on a show of strength and solidarity with South Korea and what they called a “realistic, calibrated approach,” seeking incremental progress on the issue. with denuclearization through sustained diplomatic engagement. And Kim, once again isolated on the world stage and unable to hug and smile at the US president, appeared poised to move forward with a sensational intercontinental ballistic missile test while Biden was in the air. area.
A year after the Biden administration completed its policy review on North Korea, Biden’s first trip to South Korea now puts him at the center of a new, still-unproven strategy.
Check out Biden’s reaction
Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, said the US was “prepared” for a possible missile or nuclear test by North Korea while Biden was in the area and so the president could adjust the military posture. America in the region.
“If something happens, it will only reinforce and highlight the fact that the United States will participate in the Indo-Pacific, will be a firm ally and will stand up and not narrow down Sullivan told reporters aboard South Korea’s Air Force One.
So far, the President’s strategy has not yielded a working meeting with North Korea in the year since the administration completed a review of U.S. policy toward the hidden kingdom. And North Korea has also sped up its ballistic missile tests – having launched 15 times this year so far.
“We are clearly concerned,” the official said of the inspections. “But we remain committed to our fundamental approach, which is that we will do what we need to do in terms of security for us, for our allies, for deployed forces. At the same time, we will continue to implement Security Council (UN) resolutions and urge others and press others to do the same. approach the North and make it clear that we seek diplomacy with them. We seek engagement.”
“Unfortunately, so far – I think we have to be honest about this – they have been unwilling,” the senior official added.
Amid stalled diplomacy, Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol have announced their intention to expand joint exercises, reinforcing a key component of military cooperation that Trump has sought to end. .
Covid in North Korea could be an opportunity to bond
US officials and North Korea experts attribute the country’s lack of diplomatic engagement with the US and other countries in part due to the draconian coronavirus containment measures that the hermit kingdom adopted during Mr. Biden’s tenure. power.
While US officials do not believe the outbreak will hinder North Korea’s ability to conduct missile tests, they have also been carefully watching for signs that the country might accept South Korea’s help. or internationally to combat the outbreak.
“The hope is that they will be more willing to engage in humanitarian assistance related to Covid and this can serve as a means to thaw the diplomatic relationship that has been closed,” said Ms. Patricia Kim. ice since the failed US-North Korea summit in Hanoi. , a David M. Rubenstein fellow at the Brookings Institution. “So I think there’s hope there.”
A senior administration official said the United States had previously told North Korea it was willing to engage in discussions about coronavirus relief aid but had not had any direct outreach since the outbreak. most recent outbreak. Pyongyang has yet to respond to the new government about Seoul’s offer of coronavirus assistance.
A major shift from Trump’s foreign policy
Trump’s policy toward North Korea reflects the erratic nature of his presidency. Warned by then-President Barack Obama in the Oval Office in 2016 that Pyongyang would present him with his greatest national security threat, Trump has adopted a forceful approach to North Korea. and its leader in the early days of his presidency.
From his summer home in New Jersey, Trump threatened to pour “fire and fury” on North Korea if its provocations continued. He brags that his “nuclear button” is bigger than Kim’s. And in a speech at the United Nations, he referred to the dictator as “Little Rocket Man,” an insult he devised to reduce his enemies to a caricature.
However, as time went on – and, in Trump’s view, as his rhetoric attracted Kim – the policy took a drastic turn in the other direction. After the historic summit in Singapore, the first meeting between the leaders of the United States and North Korea, the men exchanged what Trump later called “love letters.” They met again in Hanoi, though those talks fell apart because of differences over easing sanctions.
Biden, for his part, will decline the visit to the DMZ altogether, with officials saying he opted instead for a briefing at Osan Air Force Base, after having already visited the DMZ in a capacity is the vice president.
Trump’s efforts appear to give North Korea a pause in its provocative actions, with a reduction in missile and nuclear tests. Essentially, however, efforts to persuade Kim to halt his nuclear program have stalled and ultimately yielded no progress toward the ultimate goal of denuclearization.
“I think the Biden administration has tried to differentiate policy on North Korea by making the case that it’s not interested in flashy summits or big bargains, which it wants to do in a casual way. realistic and calibrated approach to build towards complete denuclearization of North Korea,” said Patricia Kim. “I think the hang-up is, of course, not so much American policy, but the fact that North Korea doesn’t seem to care about denuclearization.”
While Trump sought to see Mr. Kim as a personal partner and friend, he expressed skepticism about the need to keep US troops on the Korean Peninsula and impose stiff tariffs on South Korean goods. , steps that cause deep anxiety in Seoul and the wider region about American commitment. For security.
Victor Cha, the president of North Korea, said: “Obviously there was a sigh of relief after Biden came to the region and talked about alliances in a language the allies understood. They just didn’t understand, no. understand what Trump said.” at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
