Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on the 19th (local time) that the United States had direct contact with North Korea.



"The United States is focused on the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Deputy Secretary Sherman said in his keynote speech at the 2021 annual dinner of the Korea Society, a non-profit organization that is a South Korea-U.S. friendly, held at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, New York that evening.



Deputy Secretary Sherman, however, disclosed the fact of direct contact between the United States and North Korea, but did not explain in detail how, when, where, and by whom direct contact between the United States and North Korea was made.



The Joe Biden administration is seeking various ways to bring North Korea to the negotiating table after the end of its North Korea policy review at the end of April, but it has yet to get a positive response from North Korea.



The direct contact with North Korea mentioned by Deputy Secretary Sherman seems to be in line with the previous State Department announcement that 'a specific proposal has been made to North Korea and we will wait for a response'.



Deputy Secretary Sherman said, "As I have said several times, we are ready to meet with North Korea without preconditions, and the United States has no hostile intentions to North Korea. We hope that North Korea will respond positively to our proposals."



However, Deputy Secretary Sherman said, "The United States fully condemns North Korea's recent ballistic missile launch, which violates UN Security Council resolutions and constitutes a security threat to neighboring countries and the international community." criticized.



He further emphasized the importance of the alliance, saying, "We are working closely with our allies and partners, especially South Korea and Japan, to monitor the situation in North Korea and to find a path toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."



He said that the ROK-US alliance is "a linchpin for peace, security and prosperity in Northeast Asia, the Indo-Pacific, and the wider world." 



(Photo = Getty Images Korea)