ED Diplomacy is best way

N. Korea should not ignore Biegun's proposal

U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun, who is visiting Seoul, on Monday offered to meet North Korean officials to discuss how to move the stalled denuclearization talks forward.

This raises expectations for an impromptu meeting between Biegun and North Koreans at the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjeom before he leaves Seoul, Tuesday. Hopefully, the North will accept his proposal without conditions and exchange ideas on how to break the deadlock in a candid manner.

First, the North should realize that the self-imposed “deadline” for a deal with the U.S. is meaningless as long as both sides are committed to seeking solutions through diplomacy. The North cannot get anything by firing missiles or resuming nuclear tests. It only aggravates the situation, and will give the impression to the world that the nuclear issue cannot be resolved through dialogue. Pyongyang should leave open the possibility of extending the negotiations with Washington.

So when Biegun told reporters in Seoul that the U.S. had no deadline on nuclear negotiations with the North, it sounded like an implicit acknowledgement that narrowing differences with the North is impossible at this moment.

However, Biegun said his team was ready to resume negotiations with the North, saying the U.S. had offered the North a number of “creative ways” to proceed with “feasible steps and flexibility” to reach a balanced agreement.

“We are here and you know how to reach us,” Biegun said in what appears to be a message to North Koreans that he wants to hold talks with them before returning to the U.S. The North should not ignore this.

On Monday, Biegun discussed the situation with South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young, and also visited Cheong Wa Dae to meet President Moon Jae-in.

On Sunday, North Korea said it had conducted “another crucial test” at its Tongchang-ri missile testing site following a “very important test” in early December. The U.S. has been increasingly flying surveillance aircraft over the Korean Peninsula in recent weeks, which suggests that launches of missiles ― presumably mid- or long-range ones ― are imminent in North Korea.

Biegun did not conceal the imminent danger, saying, “We are fully aware of the strong potential for North Korea to conduct major provocations in the days ahead.” But he said that such an action would be most unhelpful in achieving lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, adding, “It does not have to be this way.”

If the North happens to use such threats to extract concessions from the U.S. ― or to exert influence on the U.S. presidential election next year as President Trump tweeted recently ― it is making a mistake. What it has to do is to face reality.