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South Korean nuclear envoy Noh Kyu-duk (L) speaks in front of the building of the US Department of State in Washington on Monday, after a meeting with his US counterpart, Sung Kim (R), on North Korea. (Yonhap) |
The United States remains strongly committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through diplomacy and dialogue, and is working closely with South Korea to bring North Korea back to the dialogue table, Seoul's top nuclear envoy said Tuesday.
Noh Kyu-duk made the remark after holding a series of meetings with his US counterpart, Sung Kim, and other administration officials, including the White House policy coordinator for Asia, Kurt Campbell, during a visit to Washington this week.
"The US administration firmly maintains a forward-looking, creative and flexible stance to restart dialogue with North Korea and make progress. South Korea and the US have been holding discussions on humanitarian assistance for the North in that context," Noh said in a meeting with reporters here.
Noh arrived here Sunday, about a week after he and his US counterpart met in Seoul.
His remark came shortly after White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki reiterated the US remains open to dialogue with North Korea.
"Well, we have left the door open and obviously reached out through our channels. I don't have an update for you in terms of any response to our offer. (The) offer remains to meet anywhere, anytime without preconditions," Psaki said in a daily press briefing.
North Korea has stayed away from dialogue with the US since early 2019, while it has also ignored several outreaches from the Joe Biden administration, which took office in January.
Noh and Kim said after talks earlier this week that they discussed possible humanitarian assistance for the North as a way of bringing Pyongyang back to the dialogue table.
"I may not be able to provide the details of specific (humanitarian assistance) projects at this stage but being fully prepared to begin anytime is the shared stance of South Korea and the US," Noh said.
A senior South Korean official here noted the assistance for North Korea may include support for its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other health issues, such as clean drinking water.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also noted any such assistance will not be directly linked to the North's return to dialogue.
"Humanitarian assistance is, in fact, being discussed regardless of the political situation. We are not saying we are discussing humanitarian assistance to bring (North Korea) to dialogue," the official told reporters.
"Humanitarian assistance is for humanitarian purposes, and it is not linked to dialogue. We just believe it could lead to a breakthrough for North Korea to have dialogue," the official added.
Noh said the US continues to place a high priority on the North Korean nuclear issue despite many other urgent issues, such as its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
"I could confirm that the US government continues to recognize the urgency of the North Korean nuclear issue even in the midst of rapidly changing international political conditions and will continue to address the North Korean nuclear issue as a first-priority challenge," he said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) earlier said in a report that the North appears to have restarted its main nuclear reactor that can produce plutonium for nuclear weapons.
White House spokeswoman Psaki said the IAEA report highlighted the urgent need for dialogue with the North to address "this reported activity and the full range of issues related to denuclearization."
The senior South Korean official said the reactivation of the North's reactor suggests a continued increase in the country's nuclear capability, but the move could also be seen as an attempt to use the Yongbyon complex as a bargaining chip.
"Based on the North's nuclear activity seen in the IAEA report, we believe the North's nuclear capability continues to expand even at this very moment," the official told reporters.
"Still, it may be viewed that North Korea restarting its nuclear activity at Yongbyon highly likely stems from a strategic decision. North Korea had in the past offered Yongbyon as a subject up for negotiation, and thus, can be viewed to still consider Yongbyon as a bargaining chip," the official added. (Yonhap)
