The top US intelligence officer for North Korea has warned that the country sees diplomacy only as a means of advancing the development of its nuclear weapons, although the new Biden government says it will look for ways to bring Pyongyang back to negotiations.
Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said on Tuesday that the new government was planning a complete overhaul of the US approach to North Korea to look for ways to increase pressure on the return to the negotiating table.
White House spokesman Jen Psaki reiterated this on Friday, saying that North Korea’s nuclear weapons are a serious threat to peace and that Washington has a vital interest in deterring Pyongyang.
Sydney Seiler, the US national intelligence officer for North Korea, told the thinktank of the Center for Strategic and International Studies earlier that Pyongyang’s arms development has been a consistent policy for 30 years.
“Every engagement in diplomacy was designed to promote the nuclear program, not to find a way out … I just urge people not to let the tactical ambiguity obstruct the strategic clarity we have about North Korea,” he said.
“So we shouldn’t be overly encouraged if suddenly (North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un) proposes a dialogue tomorrow, nor should we be overly surprised or discouraged if there is an ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) launch on Sunday.”
Seiler also said that humanitarian aid – which Blinken said the United States should provide for North Korea if necessary – was not in Pyongyang’s interest.
The strength that North Korea seeks to develop, although partly aspirational and partly years apart, was much more than needed for a country that simply wanted to be left alone, Seiler said, adding: “This is where the real risk of inaction. “
On Tuesday, Blinken spoke about the revision plan in response to a question from Democratic Senator Ed Markey, who asked whether Blinken, with the ultimate goal of denuclearizing North Korea, would support a “phased deal” that would offer sanctions under measure for Pyongyang to return to a freeze on its weapons programs.
Biden’s senior official in Asia, Kurt Campbell, said the government must decide its approach quickly and not repeat the postponement of the Obama era that led to Pyongyang’s “provocative” measures that prevented engagement.
Campbell also praised former President Donald Trump’s unprecedented summits with Kim, although he made no progress in reducing a North Korean nuclear weapons program that has expanded in the meantime.