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The degree of change in the US new administration’s policy on the North Korean nuclear issue is noteworthy, as Joe Biden’s nominee, Tony Blincoln, who will lead the next US administration’s policy on the Korean Peninsula, announced that he would review the overall approach to North Korea.
“One of the first things we are going to do is to revisit the overall approach,” Blincoln said at a Senate approval hearing on the 19th (local time) regarding North Korea policy.
It means that the existing approaches will be reviewed one by one, but considering the fact that Biden-elect and the next foreign policy line have criticized the Donald Trump administration’s policy toward North Korea, it is actually accepted as an anticipation of policy change.
Blincoln’s remarks aren’t specific, but they are the first public statements after the presidential election, which can be a glimpse into the Biden administration’s North Korea policy.
Of course, he strongly suggested that a specific policy has not been decided yet, as the subject of review of the policy toward North Korea, such as whether the Blincoln nominee would have options, whether the increased pressure would be effective to bring North Korea to the negotiating table, or whether other diplomatic plans would be possible. .
However, his recognition that the North Korean nuclear issue was a difficult problem that was plagued by the US administration and that it has actually gotten worse is interpreted as putting weight on adopting a new method.
This is a sign of a shift from the Trump administration’s top-down approach, and it can also be seen as not returning to the “strategic patience” of the Barack Obama administration.
It can be interpreted that while reviewing all policies in a blank situation, prioritizing working-level negotiations, they have in mind a creative solution that does not take the path of failure of the past government.
In this regard, it is worth noting that both the Biden administration’s foreign policy two-tops, Nominee Blingen and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, both showed interest in Iranian solutions.
The point of watching could be whether the Iranian-style solution, which is a step-by-step approach, rather than the Libyan method of’compensation after pre-nuclear abolition,’ which North Korea opposes, can be adapted to the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
In particular, it is noteworthy that the nominee Blincoln has shown considerable openness to the issue of humanitarian aid to North Korea.
![[그래픽] Pending issues in the early days of Biden's regime](https://i0.wp.com/file.mk.co.kr/meet/yonhap/2021/01/20/image_readmed_2021_63262_1_114512.jpg?w=500&ssl=1)
[그래픽] The pending issue in the early days of Biden’s regime–
The North Korean regime’s top priority for negotiations with the US is to ensure system security, so the limitations of humanitarian aid are clear, but it can serve as a basis for establishing dialogue momentum with the new US administration.
This is not without the aspect that it can achieve a certain intersection with the Korean government’s strategy to connect the progress of the US-North Korea dialogue with the improvement of inter-Korean relations.
In addition, as the nominee Blincoln discussed close consultations with the alliances including Korea as a starting point for the North Korean nuclear solution, it is expected that the voice of the Korean government will be reflected.
It is also part of the alliance-oriented policy that Lloyd Austin, the nominee of the US Secretary of Defense, showed his willingness to conclude an early defense sharing negotiation with South Korea at the Senate hearing on the same day.
In a post to Yonhap News just before the presidential election, Biden made it clear that he would not extortion the alliance like the Trump administration.
However, it is known that Biden’s new administration officials, including Blincoln’s nominee, prefer to put the other person at the dialogue table through sanctions pressure, and it is possible to find an initial contact point between North America depending on the elaborate policy creativity.
Of course, it is unlikely that North Korea will act as another stumbling block for North Korea’s recent 8th Party Congress, which defines the United States as its largest enemy and demands withdrawal of its hostile policy.
The Biden administration, which will be launched on the 20th, put overcoming the new coronavirus (Corona 19) pandemic and recovering the economy as top priorities, and has no choice but to focus on it, so it seems that it will not be able to afford to pay attention to the North Korean issue right away. That is why the prospect that the starting point of a full-fledged push and pull between North America will be the stage of the ROK-US joint training in March comes.
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