US Open To Dialogue With N. Korea Without Compromising S. Korea Commitments - Austin

US Open to Dialogue With N. Korea Without Compromising S. Korea Commitments - Austin

The United States is open to dialogue with North Korea, yet at the same time Washington is focused on its commitment to help defend South Korea, if necessary, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th July, 2021) The United States is open to dialogue with North Korea, yet at the same time Washington is focused on its commitment to help defend South Korea, if necessary, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday.

"As far as North Korea is concerned, we are open to dialogue. We also remain focused on our commitment, our responsibility to help defend the Republic of Korea [South Korea]," Austin said while speaking at the 40th International Institute for Strategic Studies Fullerton Lecture in Singapore.

Washington considers its readiness to live up to its commitments "pretty important," Austin said.

"But again, we remain open to dialogue [with North Korea]," he added.

The US-North Korea dialogue, as well as the inter-Korean dialogue, has been stalled since the failed February 2019 summit in Hanoi, during which Washington demanded more decisive steps from Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons, while the latter accused its American counterparts of breaching prior commitments. Further denuclearization talks in Sweden in October 2019 failed to break the deadlock.

Austin is on his introductory visit to Singapore, which will last until Wednesday, as part of a Southeast Asia tour. He met Singaporean Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen earlier in the day to discuss defense ties and cooperation in such areas as cyber-defense and strategic communications.

Next on Austin's itinerary are Vietnam and the Philippines.