US renews commitment to diplomacy with N. Korea after regime reopens borders for foreigners

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller answers questions about a American solider detained in North Korea after he willfully crossed the border from South Korea during a news briefing at the State Department in Washington, July 18. AP-Yonhap

The U.S. Department of State reiterated its commitment to diplomacy with North Korea on Monday, after the reclusive regime reportedly reopened its borders for foreigners' entry this week for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

China's state broadcaster CCTV has reported on the North's full lifting of border closures, which were first enforced in January 2020 ― a move that raised hopes for the resumption of its reengagement with the outside world.

"I would say that we have always made clear that we welcome diplomacy with North Korea that has been the policy of this administration since the beginning of this administration," Matthew Miller, the department's spokesperson, told a press briefing. "But North Korea has rejected it at every turn."

Although the United States has lambasted the North's move to deepen military ties with Russia amid the war in Ukraine, Washington has signaled its openness to diplomacy with Pyongyang to address the recalcitrant regime's nuclear and other issues.

Direct nuclear talks between the U.S. and the North have been stalled since the two countries held a working-level meeting in Sweden in October 2019 in the wake of the bilateral no-deal summit in Hanoi in February that year.

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre commented on the ongoing diplomatic efforts to hold a trilateral summit between South Korea, China and Japan, which has been suspended since late 2019 amid historical disputes between Seoul and Tokyo and the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The United States respects the ability of nations to make sovereign decisions in the best interests of their people just as the United States takes steps to responsibly manage our relationship with the PRC and also with our partners and allies," she said, referring to China by its official name, the People's Republic of China. (Yonhap)

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