US President Joe Biden has appointed a special envoy to conduct dialogue with North Korea. He said that he and South Korean President Moon Jae-in are still “deeply concerned” about the nuclear arsenal of “Pyongyang”.

At a joint press conference on Friday, Biden also stated that he will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un under appropriate conditions.

The President of the United States told reporters at the White House that his ultimate goal is the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, but he said he “has no illusions” about the difficulty of getting North Korea to abandon its nuclear arsenal.

In a speech with Moon, Biden said: “We are all deeply concerned about the situation.” “Our two countries are also willing to engage in diplomatic exchanges with them. [North Korea] Take pragmatic steps to reduce tension on the Korean Peninsula.”

Biden said that to help advance this effort, Song Kim, a senior official of the State Department, will serve as North Korea’s special envoy to the United States.

South Korean diplomat Sung Kim, under the leadership of former President Barack Obama, served as North Korea’s special envoy and assisted Kim Jong-il in establishing the summit of former President Donald Trump .

He has also served as the ambassador of South Korea, the Philippines and Indonesia, and most recently served as the top diplomat of the United States in East Asia as an agent.

Biden Gold Summit?

Since Biden took over Trump from Trump, Pyongyang has so far refused to accept the diplomatic invitation of the United States. Trump has held three summit meetings with Kim Jong Un and exchanged famous “beautiful letters” with the two.

Nevertheless, Kim Jong Il refused to give up his nuclear weapons, but frozen the test. Since 2017, he has not tested a nuclear bomb, nor has he launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, although experts believe that his arsenal has grown steadily.

Moon’s contact with North Korea before leaving office next year is a legacy issue. He said that Sung Kim’s appointment “reflects the firm commitment of the United States to explore diplomacy and its preparation for dialogue with North Korea.”

He said that he hopes to get a positive response.

When asked if Biden was considering following up on Trump’s headlines but ultimately the summit with Kim Jong Il was inconclusive, the President of the United States said that he must adopt completely different terms.

Biden said the North Korean leader must commit to “discussing its nuclear arsenal” and allow its advisers to meet with their American counterparts to lay the groundwork for such summits.

“I won’t do the recent things; I won’t give him everything he wants-international recognition is legal and allows him to move in a direction that seems to be more… seriously he doesn’t take seriously at all.” he said.

‘Sell’

Biden’s comments seem to reflect a shift in his thinking.

The White House said in March that Biden did not want to meet with North Korean leaders.

Jenny Tom of the North Korean surveillance project “38 North” in northern Washington said that Song Kim’s appointment is positive, given that the Biden administration has indicated that it is not eager to fill the position.

However, it did not indicate what concessions it might provide for the talks.

She told Reuters: “The problem is that the government is only talking about denuclearization and continues to describe any interaction with North Korea as a nuclear negotiation.”

“Therefore, it is still a difficult task to get the North Koreans back to the negotiating table, but obviously, the Moon will do its best.”

Moon said that Biden expressed support for dialogue and cooperation within North Korea, while Tom said that unless Washington refuses to relax sanctions on Pyongyang, Washington will not provide Seoul with the means to advance this space.

The White House announced last month that it has completed its review of North Korea policy. Biden will deviate from the strategy of his two most recent predecessors and reject Trump’s deep personal efforts to win Kim Jong Il and Obama’s laissez-faire approach. .

But the Biden administration has not elaborated on a third way to prompt North Korea to abandon its nuclear program.

‘Old friend’

On the day of the meeting, Biden and Moon also reiterated the strong alliance between the two countries after the pressure caused by Trump. Trump called Moon a weak and threatened to withdraw US troops from South Korea.

Since Biden took office in January, Moon is the second foreign leader to visit the White House after the Japanese prime minister. Biden said that their conversation was an “old friend” conversation.

On Friday, May 21, 2021, at a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House, President Biden listened to the speech when South Korean President Moon Jae-in spoke at the joint press conference in the East Room of the White House. [Alex Brandon/ AP]

Both also discussed China and Taiwan.

Taiwan complained about Beijing’s repeated military pressure, and the Chinese Air Force frequently entered the Taiwan Air Defense Identification Zone.

Moon said: “We agree that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are extremely important. We agree to work together on this issue while considering the special characteristics of the relationship between mainland China and Taiwan.”

In another victory for Moon, he was under pressure domestically in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that the United States and South Korea have reached a vaccine partnership, which will combine American expertise with South Korea’s production capacity.

He said this will help provide COVID-19 vaccines in the Indo-Pacific region, and Biden said the United States will provide vaccination for 550,000 South Korean soldiers.