MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th March, 2021) North Korea has not been responding to Washington's outreach through multiple channels, CNN reports citing a senior US administration official.
"To reduce the risks of escalation, we reached out to the North Korean government through several channels starting in mid-February, including in New York," the official said, adding " ... we have not received any response from Pyongyang. This follows over a year without active dialogue with North Korea, despite multiple attempts by the US to engage."
Washington is now reviewing its North Korea policy and is evaluating options to address what it perceives as an "increasing threat" posed by Pyongyang, the official said.
Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Asian and Pacific Affairs for the State Department Sung Kim said earlier this week that Washington was going to complete its policy review on North Korea in the coming weeks.
Sung said that during high-level meetings with officials in Tokyo and Seoul on March 16-18, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was going to provide his counterparts a preview of the US President Joe Biden administration's North Korea policy review and will possibly receive input from them to take into consideration before the review is finalized.
Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are expected to 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 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.
