US President Joe Biden will explore diplomacy but not seek any “grand bargain” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as he embarks on a new approach to pressuring Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, the White House said on Friday.
“Our goal remains the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula,” Biden’s press secretary, Jen Psaki, told reporters.
US policy will see “a calibrated, practical approach that is open to and will explore diplomacy” with North Korea, she said.
The new approach follows a review of North Korea policy by the incoming Biden administration after three headline-grabbing meetings between Kim and former US President Donald Trump failed to make any progress in convincing Pyongyang to give up its weapons.