"Biden Willing to Meet Kim Jong-un to Discuss Denuclearization"

U.S. President Joe Biden has reportedly expressed his willingness to meet unconditionally with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un to discuss denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator for the U.S. National Security Council (NSC), stated in an exclusive interview with Japan's Kyodo News released on the 17th (local time), "North Korea has not responded positively to the U.S. proposal, but it is still on the table." He emphasized, "We are willing to sit down and negotiate without preconditions."

Kirby's interview came a day before the trilateral summit of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan, where North Korea's nuclear and missile development issues are expected to be a major agenda. Since President Biden's inauguration in January 2021, no meeting between the two leaders has taken place. Kirby did not disclose when the proposal for a summit meeting was made to North Korea or through which channels it was conveyed.

However, referring to North Korea's response to the Biden administration's proposal, he stressed, "We must certainly be prepared in all other aspects to protect our national security interests and those of our allies, South Korea and Japan." He added, "This means we will be putting more capabilities into the region, and if necessary, we will certainly consider doing so again in the future."

U.S. President Joe Biden arrived at the Hagerstown Regional Airport in Maryland on the 17th (local time), one day before the Korea-U.S.-Japan summit, and disembarked from his official aircraft, Air Force One. On the same day, President Biden headed to Camp David, the official presidential retreat and the venue for the meeting.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

In this regard, Mira Rapp-Hooper, Director for Indo-Pacific Strategy at the NSC, said at a think tank event the previous day that the Biden administration has been making special efforts in recent weeks to invite North Korea to the negotiating table. Rapp-Hooper explained that these efforts have intensified since Private Travis King, a U.S. soldier stationed in South Korea, defected to North Korea a month ago.

Regarding the National Intelligence Service's announcement the previous day that North Korea is preparing various provocations, including intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches, targeting the trilateral summit or joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises, Kirby said, "There may be some kind of provocative acts, but we do not know what form they might take, and worrying too much about that would not be a good use of our time."

On the 18th, President Biden will hold a summit at Camp David, the U.S. presidential retreat, with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. The exclusive summit is expected to discuss ways to strengthen security cooperation in response to North Korea's pursuit of nuclear and missile development and the hegemonic conflicts with China.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.