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Saturday, May 22, 2021, 09:15
Biden, Moon express willingness to engage DPRK
By Agencies
Saturday, May 22, 2021, 09:15 By Agencies

US President Joe Biden listens as the Republic of Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House, May 21, 2021, in Washington. (ALEX BRANDON/AP)

US President Joe Biden and the Republic of Korea (ROK)’s President Moon Jae-in on Friday injected fresh urgency into attempts to engage the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in dialogue with Biden saying he would meet DPRK leader Kim Jong-un under the right conditions.

At a joint news conference, Biden and Moon both said the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is their goal. 

Moon was the second foreign leader - after Japan's prime minister - to visit the White House since Biden took office in January, and Biden said their conversations amounted to talks between "old friends"

In their day of talks, Biden and Moon reaffirmed the strong alliance between the two countries after the strains created by former US president Donald Trump, who badgered Moon as weak and threatened to pull US troops out of the ROK.

READ MORE: Moon seeks urgency on DPRK, vaccine deal at Biden summit

Moon was the second foreign leader - after Japan's prime minister - to visit the White House since Biden took office in January, and Biden said their conversations amounted to talks between "old friends."

Moon said the United States and the ROK would combine capabilities to supply COVID-19 vaccines in the Indo-Pacific region. They also discussed how to tackle climate change.

But the DPRK dominated their joint news conference, held in the White House East Room.

Biden said the two countries will have a "shared approach" to the DPRK and that he and Moon shared a willingness to engage diplomatically with the North "to take pragmatic steps to reduce tensions."

ALSO READ: DPRK says Biden govt took 'wrong first step' over latest missile test

Biden said a State Department official, Sung Kim, would serve as a special US envoy for the DPRK. Moon said the envoy would help explore whether the DPRK is willing to engage diplomatically and he expected a positive response from Pyongyang.

Moon Jae-in said the United States and the ROK would combine capabilities to supply COVID-19 vaccines in the Indo-Pacific region

Sung Kim is a veteran Korean-American diplomat who has served as ambassador to the Philippines and Indonesia and most recently in an acting capacity as the top US diplomat for East Asia. He led preparatory talks to set up the Trump-Kim summits.

Moon welcomed what he called Biden’s realistic, pragmatic approach to the DPRK and called denuclearization a top priority.

Biden said he would be willing to meet Kim under the right conditions, depending on if Kim agreed to discuss his nuclear program and that his advisers first met with their DPRK counterparts to lay the groundwork for talks between the leaders.

Biden's comments appeared to reflect a shift in his thinking about a meeting. The White House had said in March it was not Biden's intention to meet with Kim.

Biden's administration in its early months undertook a broad review of the DPRK policy but has said little about what the new policy actually entails.

US officials have said only that Biden's policy would not be the approach favored by former president Barack Obama of refusing to engage the North, and not Trump's flashy summitry.

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