BLINKEN STRESSES DIALOGUE WITH N. KOREA

[Anchor Lead]

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told ABC the best chance to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is to engage diplomatically with North Korea. His remarks reaffirm what the leaders of South Korea and the U.S. have stressed at their summit meeting -- dialogue and diplomacy in dealing with North Korea. Blinken says the ball is now in Pyongyang’s court.

[Pkg]

In the first interview since the Seoul-washington summit, America's Secretary of State said “the best chance to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is to engage diplomatically with North Korea.”

[Soundbite] Antony Blinken(U.S. Secretary of State)

Antony Blinken’s remarks seem to reaffirm what the two leaders emphasized at their first summit dialogue and diplomacy when it comes to dealing with Pyongyang. The top diplomat believes there won't be a grand bargain where the issue gets resolved in one fell swoop. He stressed the North must take clear measures, and that the ball is now in its court.

[Soundbite] Antony Blinken(U.S. Secretary of State)

This means the U.S. is waiting to see if the regime wants to engage. Pundits say the appointment of acting Assistant Secretary Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Sung Kim as a special envoy for North Korea represents the Biden administration’s willingness to engage in dialogue with Pyongyang. Secretary Blinken added there is no need to acknowledge North Korea’s nuclear program, calling it a difficult problem that no previous administration was able to solve successfully.