Summary of external news of North Korea this week

SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of external news of North Korea this week.

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N. Korea, China have no respect for human rights: Pompeo

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 (Yonhap) -- Countries like North Korea and China have no respect for human rights and oppose other universal values such as democracy, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday.

"Governments like those in China, Iran, North Korea, they don't have the respect for the universal dignity of every human being in the way that America does," the top U.S. diplomat said in a speech at Washington-based Voice of America (VOA).

"Indeed, that is what America was founded upon. Those regimes are anathema to everything that our nation stands for," he added.

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Biden must act quickly before N. Korea creates crisis: think tank

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) -- The new U.S. administration of Joe Biden must act quickly to prevent North Korea from setting the stage by creating a crisis, a U.S. think tank said Tuesday.

The Korea Economic Institute of America (KEIA) also advised the incoming U.S. administration to see if U.S.-North Korea denuclearization talks could be picked up from where they were left off by the outgoing Donald Trump administration.

"The Biden Administration should act quickly on North Korea to prevent Pyongyang from setting the stage by creating a crisis, as it has in the past," it said.

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(News Focus) Biden's pick for Asia policy likely to seek stronger regional alliances to check China

SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's selection of a former diplomat for Asia policy signals his intention to reinforce cooperation among South Korea, Japan and other allies in the region under a closer-knit alliance network to keep an assertive China in check, analysts said Thursday.

The designation of Kurt Campbell, former assistant secretary of state for East Asia, came amid persistent historical animosity between Seoul and Tokyo and a sense that the U.S. alliances have slackened under the Donald Trump administration employing a transactional approach toward diplomacy under his "America First" mantra.

The spokesperson of Biden's transition team confirmed Wednesday that Campbell from the former Barack Obama administration will be the "coordinator for the Indo-Pacific" on the White House National Security Council, Reuters reported.

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Incoming Biden administration understands 'urgency' of N.K. nuke issues: Seoul official

SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Yonhap) -- The incoming U.S. administration of Joe Biden is fully aware of the "urgency" of North Korea's nuclear issues, and South Korea is ready to closely work with Washington to draw up the "most effective" countermeasures as soon as the new government takes office, a Seoul official said Thursday.

North Korea recently ramped up its push to strengthen its nuclear arsenal in its recent key party gathering in what appears aimed at upping the ante ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Biden slated for Jan. 20.

In its eighth congress of the Workers' Party that was held for more than a week until Tuesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called the United States the North's "foremost principal enemy" and pledged to advance its nuclear arsenal.
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