White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday confirmed the news agency AFP's reports that the Biden administration's outreach efforts toward North Korea have been met with silence. "We have reached out," Psaki said, noting that "diplomacy is always our goal."

AFP had quoted an anonymous senior US official as saying: "We reached out to the North Korean government through several channels starting in mid-February, including in New York. To date, we have not received any response from Pyongyang." The official said the outreach had been made in an effort "to reduce the risks of escalation" in the region.

The news came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin departed for a four-day trip to Japan and South Korea — after which Austin will continue on to India and Blinken will stop in Anchorage, Alaska, where he and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with Chinese representatives on Thursday.

On Monday, State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter told reporters: "To date, we have not received any response from Pyongyang. This follows over a year without active dialogue with North Korea, despite several attempts by the US to engage."

US hopes to restore trust with Asian allies

The thrust of Blinken and Austin's Asia tour will be to reassure the governments of Japan and South Korea that the United States remains a reliable partner after four years of mixed signals from the previous administration. The Biden administration, concerned about the situation in North Korea, is conducting an evaluation of the threat to the United States and its allies in Asia.

The official quoted by AFP said: "Throughout the review process, we have and will continue to engage with our Japanese and South Korean allies to solicit input and explore fresh approaches."

Blinken and Austin's diplomatic junket will address US security commitments to Japan and South Korea, possible approaches to dealing with an increasinglky assertive China, and discussions on the best ways to confront the pressing issues of the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing threat posed by North Korea's nuclear activities.

The effort is clearly an attempt to return to the "pivot to Asia" promised by the Obama administration after what it saw as the Bush administration's concentration on the Middle East and Central Asia.

Trump-Kim bromance didn't change anything

North Korea has long been a focus of US attention, but during the presidency of Donald Trump, the country's reclusive dictator, Kim Jong Un, was feted and fawned over like never before. Still, despite three in-person meetings and the slew of "beautiful letters" that Donald Trump received from the North Korean leader, the "historic" talks led nowhere — and ultimately left allies South Korea and Japan wondering whether they could count on US protection as Pyongyang repeatedly threatened them in word and deed.

Now, the top US diplomat for Asia, Sung Kim, has said: "Diplomacy is back at the center of our foreign policy, and we are working to strengthen America's relationships with our allies as well as the relationships among them."

Blinken and Austin are expected to finalize tentative deals on financing US troops stationed in South Korea, as well as a similar deal with Japan. The issue of increasing fees for US security assistance was central to former President Trump's foreign policy approach, leading to heightened tensions between the US and its allies around the world.

Though Biden has harshly criticized his predecessor's hostile approach to China, he has yet to revoke any of his policies, instead choosing to double-down on those related to human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, as well as rejecting Chinese maritime claims in the South China Sea.

js/msh (AFP, Reuters)