While US Secretary of State Tony Blingen and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are scheduled to visit Japan and South Korea in turn starting on the 15th, a high-ranking US official has expressed awareness that North Korea’s threat to the international community is growing, Kyodo News reported.
Kyodo News reported in an article from Washington on the 14th (U.S. local time) that an anonymous high-ranking official from the U.S. government revealed that the Joe Biden administration attempted to contact North Korea, increasing the North Korean threat to the international community and all neighboring countries, including South Korea and Japan. He said he expressed the recognition that he was doing it.
Earlier, Reuters reported that the Biden administration, which was launched in January this year, citing an anonymous senior U.S. administration official, has tried behind-the-scenes contact with North Korea through various channels since mid-February, but has not yet received a response.
A senior US government official, cited by Kyodo News, said the purpose was to “avoid confrontation intensifying” against the background of the attempted contact while confirming the contents of Reuters reported.
The official also stressed that the Biden administration is placing great importance on the intentions of both Korea and Japan in relation to North Korea policy, saying, “We are thoroughly verifying the (US) government’s overall policy toward North Korea.”
He expressed his desire to complete this verification within a few weeks.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Sung Kim also announced at a press briefing on the 12th that he expects the Biden administration’s review of North Korea policy to be completed within a few weeks.
Considering this, it is presumed that the anonymous official cited in this article by Kyodo News Agency was Assistant Secretary Kim.
Kyodo News is also held on the 16th at the Security Consultation Committee (2+2) between the US and Japan diplomatic and defense ministers participating in the participation of Secretary of State Blincoln, Defense Minister Austin, Foreign Minister Toshimit Motegi, and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi. The North Korean issue was expected to become one of the main agendas.
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