Blinken: US doesn’t accept North Korea’s nuclear status

The US is engaged in an intensive review of its policy towards North Korea and doesn’t and shouldn’t accept Pyongyang’s nuclear status, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with ABC channel on May 23, Report informs.

“We don’t and we shouldn’t, but let’s be honest: This is a hard problem. Previous administrations, Republican and Democrat alike, have tried to tackle it, and no one’s fully succeeded, to say the least. In fact, the program has gotten more advanced and more dangerous over time. And we’ve looked at different approaches that were taken, including basically doing nothing for nothing or trying to do – get everything for everything. Neither has worked,” Blinken said.

“We engaged in an intensive review. We looked at what every previous administration has done. We consulted very closely with our allies and partners, starting with South Korea and Japan,” he noted.

“And what President Biden determined was the best chance we have to achieve the objective of the total denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is 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,” Blinken added.

“Now, we put that forward. We’re waiting to see if Pyongyang actually wants to engage. The ball’s in their court. We’ve made clear we’re prepared to pursue this diplomatically even as the sanctions remain in place because North Korea continues to engage in activities that are clearly prohibited by the United Nations. But we’re prepared to do the diplomacy. The question is: Is North Korea?”