DPRK vows to freeze out ‘hostile’ US
Biden administration urged to end its ‘lunatic theory’ before talks can resume
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on Thursday accused the United States of adopting a “lunatic theory”, ruling out any engagement with the new administration unless it changed course.
The comments by the DPRK’s First Vice-Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin held talks in Seoul with their Republic of Korea counterparts on Thursday about matters on the Korean Peninsula and regional issues.
In a statement carried by Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency, Choe said there could be no contact nor dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang “unless the US rolls back its hostile policy” toward her country.
Referring to the administration of US President Joe Biden, the statement said the “new regime” in the US had only put forward a “lunatic theory of ‘threat from North Korea (DPRK)’ and groundless rhetoric about ‘complete denuclearization’”.
Li Chengri, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Pyongyang is making it clear that it will not go back to the negotiating table unless Washington changes its current policy. Without laying out a specific precondition to talks, he added, the DPRK also showed some flexibility.
The DPRK may keep exerting pressure on the US and the ROK, he said, and the key is whether Seoul, a longtime broker between Pyongyang and Washington, could play a more positive role.
On Thursday, a joint statement by the US and the ROK was released after the meeting of the four ministers in Seoul to coordinate a joint approach toward the DPRK and discuss other alliance issues. It was the first meeting under what’s known as the “2+2” format since October 2016.
The two allies also reaffirmed a mutual commitment to the defense of the ROK and to the strengthening of the allies’ combined defense posture, consistent with the ROK-US Mutual Defense Treaty.
In a news conference, Blinken said that both pressure and diplomatic options are on the table for dealing with the DPRK, adding that “we have a very open mind about it”.
Zhu Feng, dean of the School of International Relations at Nanjing University, said that the allies’ talk of strengthening their alliance is an old theme. But the “ambiguity” of Washington’s message in its approach to the DPRK adds to uncertainties in the region.
The US-ROK statement avoided a response to the longtime concerns of the DPRK, including Pyongyang’s demand for an easing in sanctions under a gradual denuclearization, especially when its economy has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
Washington and Seoul need to take conducive steps and not to provoke Pyongyang. A resumption of dialogue is the only way to address the issue.”
Zhu Feng, dean of the School of International Relations at Nanjing University
Following the meeting, chief negotiators from the two allies initialed a tentative deal on the 11th Special Measures Agreement, a pact to share the upkeep costs for about 28,500 US troops stationed in the ROK.
ROK President Moon Jae-in met with Blinken and Austin after the “2+2” talks, claiming that the ROK will maintain close teamwork with the US for the goal of complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of lasting peace in the region, according to the Yonhap news agency.
Zhu said: “Washington and Seoul need to take conducive steps and not to provoke Pyongyang. A resumption of dialogue is the only way to address the issue.”