WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th March, 2021) The Biden administration will complete its policy review on North Korea in the coming weeks, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Asian and Pacific Affairs for the State Department Sung Kim said in a conference call.
"With the North Korea policy review, as you know, we're conducting a thorough and comprehensive policy review," Sung said. "I don't have an exact timeline for the completion of the review but we're working expeditiously and I think maybe in the coming weeks we'll be able to complete the review."
Sung said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during high-level meetings with officials in Tokyo and Seoul on March 16-18 will provide his counterparts a preview of the Biden administration's North Korea policy review and will possibly receive input from them to take into consideration before the review in finalized.
Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will discuss matters concerning North Korea's nuclear weapons program, among other topics, during their trip to Japan and South Korea.
Former US President Donald Trump during his time in office held three summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, however, the two sides never achieved a breakthrough on denuclearization due to a deadlock on sanctions relief.
The South Korean military has said that in 2019 alone, Pyongyang carried out a total of 13 missile tests and showcased several new types of ballistic missiles, including a super-large multiple rocket launcher and an advanced submarine-launched ballistic missile.
The United Nations has imposed several rounds of sanctions on the North in a bid to force it to halt nuclear and ballistic missile research.
