The United States is seeking a “reliable, predictable and constructive” way to secure progress in stalled denuclearisation talks with North Korea, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on Friday. Sherman made the remarks following a meeting with South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun in Seoul on the second leg of her Asian tour.
The two sides discussed how to reopen negotiations after North Korea brushed off the Biden administration’s proposals for talks, casting a cloud over prospects for dismantling its nuclear and missile programmes. “We are looking forward to a reliable, predictable, constructive way forward with the DPRK,” Sherman told reporters, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“We all feel for the people of the DPRK who are indeed facing all of the most difficult circumstances given the pandemic and what it means as well for their food security.” While North Korea has not reported any coronavirus cases, leader Kim Jong Un said the food situation was “tense,” citing the pandemic that led to North Korea closing its border with China, disrupting trade, and a typhoon last year that damaged crops.
