U.S. says North Korea policy unchanged after nuclear remark raises eyebrows

The United States said connected Friday its argumentation towards North Korea had not changed aft a elder U.S. authoritative liable for atomic argumentation raised immoderate eyebrows by saying Washington would beryllium consenting to prosecute successful arms-control talks with Pyongyang.

Some experts reason that recognizing North Korea arsenic a nuclear-armed state, thing Pyongyang seeks, is simply a prerequisite for specified talks. But Washington has agelong argued that the North Korean atomic programme is amerciable and taxable to United Nations sanctions.

Bonnie Jenkins, State Department nether caput for arms control, was asked astatine a Washington atomic league connected Thursday astatine which constituent North Korea should beryllium treated arsenic an arms-control problem.

"If they would person a speech with america ... arms power tin ever beryllium an enactment if you person 2 consenting countries consenting to beryllium down astatine the array and talk," she replied.

"And not conscionable arms control, but hazard simplification - everything that leads up to a accepted arms-control pact and each the antithetic aspects of arms power that we tin person with them. We've made it precise wide to the DPRK ... that we're acceptable to speech to them - we person nary pre-conditions," she said, referring to North Korea by the initials of its authoritative name.

Referring to North Korean person Kim Jong Un, she added: "If helium picked up the telephone and said, 'I privation to speech astir arms control,' we're not going to accidental no. I think, if anything, we would privation to research what that means."

The United States and its allies are acrophobic that North Korea whitethorn beryllium astir to resume atomic weaponry investigating for the archetypal clip since 2017, thing that would beryllium highly unwelcome to the Biden medication up of mid-term elections aboriginal adjacent month. North Korea has rejected U.S. calls to instrumentality to talks.

Asked astir Jenkins' comment, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said: "I privation to beryllium precise wide astir this. There has been nary alteration to U.S. policy."

Price said U.S. argumentation remained "the implicit denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," portion adding, "we proceed to beryllium unfastened to diplomacy with the DPRK, we proceed to scope retired to the DPRK, we're committed to pursuing a diplomatic approach. We're prepared to conscionable without preconditions and we telephone connected the DPRK to prosecute successful superior and sustained diplomacy."

Speaking connected Friday astatine the aforesaid atomic argumentation league Jenkins addressed, Alexandra Bell, different elder State Department arms-control official, besides stressed determination was nary alteration successful U.S. policy.

Asked if it was clip to judge North Korea arsenic a atomic state, she replied: "Wording aside, we are committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. We bash not judge North Korea with that status. But we are funny successful having a speech with the North Koreans."

Daniel Russel, the apical U.S. diplomat for East Asia nether then-President Barack Obama and present with the Asia Society, told Reuters Jenkins had "fallen consecutive into Kim Jong Un's trap" with her remarks.

"Suggesting that North Korea lone has to hold to person a speech with the U.S. astir arms power and hazard simplification is simply a unspeakable mistake, due to the fact that it moves the contented from North Korea's close to person atomic weapons to the question of however galore it should person and however they are used," helium said.

"Kim would emotion thing amended than to propulsion his hazard simplification docket — the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Korea."

Other experts played down Jenkins' remarks.

Daryl Kimball, enforcement manager of the U.S.-based Arms Control Association, said she was not making a connection recognizing North Korea arsenic a atomic weapons authorities nether the planetary Non-Proliferation Treaty.

"She was acknowledging, arsenic different officials successful different administrations have, that North Korea does person atomic weapons, but successful usurpation of its commitments nether the NPT not to prosecute atomic weapons," helium told Reuters.

Kimball and Toby Dalton, a atomic adept astatine the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which hosted the atomic conference, said they did not spot ceremonial designation arsenic a nuclear-armed authorities arsenic a prerequisite for arms-control talks. Dalton said Jenkins appeared fundamentally to beryllium restating the U.S. presumption that it was consenting to speech to Pyongyang without preconditions.