Olympic gestures open door for U.S., North Korea talks
WASHINGTON — The U.S. is open for talks without preconditions with nuclear North Korea, Vice President Mike Pence has declared, subtly shifting White House policy after Olympics-inspired gestures of respect between the rival Koreas.
That provides a little more leverage for South Korea in its pathfinding outreach to the North and could reduce potential strains in the U.S.-South Korean alliance. But diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang won’t start unless Kim Jong Un wants it to. While the North Korean dictator, who has yet to meet a foreign leader, has invited the South Korean president for a rare summit, Kim has given no sign of being ready to talk to the U.S.
A back channel of diplomatic communication between North Korea and the State Department has remained open since President Trump took office a year ago, but the only substantive talks reported to date were in the first half of last year over the fate of several Americans in North Korean custody. The North has refused to negotiate over its nuclear weapons as it nears its goal of being able to launch an atomic-tipped missile that could strike the U.S. mainland.
Trump views those weapons as America’s primary national security threat. His administration’s 2019 budget, released yesterday, includes hundreds of millions of dollars more for missile defense, adding 20 strategic interceptors in Alaska to protect against long-range North Korean projectiles. Meanwhile, Pence is making clear that the U.S. will keep escalating sanctions pressure on the North until it takes clear steps toward giving up its nukes.