U.S. prepared for any kind of engagement with N. Korea: Campbell

By Byun Duk-kun

WASHINGTON, May 11 (Yonhap) -- The United States stands prepared to engage in any kind of diplomacy or dialogue with North Korea, White House policy coordinator for Asia Kurt Campbell said Wednesday.

He also said the new South Korean government of Yoon Suk-yeol is determined to work closely with the U.S.

"I will also just note that we have a new partner, a new president in South Korea that is determined, working with the United States, to be very clearly engaged in deterring and sending a strong message of partnership between Seoul and Washington," Campbell said in a seminar hosted by the U.S. Institute of Peace, a state-run think tank based in Washington.

"And on that basis, I think we are prepared for any kind of diplomacy or engagement with North Korea," he added.

The remarks come as U.S. President Joe Biden is set to embark on a three-day trip to Seoul next Friday for a bilateral summit with Yoon, who took office on Tuesday (Seoul time). Biden is also scheduled to visit Tokyo following his trip to South Korea.

Campbell noted the U.S. has tried to reach out to North Korea on "numerous occasions."

Pyongyang remains unresponsive to U.S. overtures, multiple U.S. officials have noted.

North Korea, instead, staged more than a dozen rounds of missile tests this year.

"We have also sent clear messages of steps that we view as provocative and antithetical to the maintenance of peace and stability. Recently, we've seen a number of steps, military steps and tests that we view as provocative," said Campbell.

The U.S. Department of State has said the North may be preparing to conduct a nuclear test as early as this month.

The U.N. Security Council was set to hold an emergency meeting later in the day in New York at a request from the U.S. to discuss North Korea's recent missile launches that the U.S. says included at least three intercontinental ballistic missile tests.

Campbell said trade will also be a major topic for discussion between Seoul and Washington during Biden's visit to South Korea.

"I believe that one of the things that is increasingly clear to at least our leadership in the United States is that when you talk about what are topics that countries will raise with us, economic and commercial issues are on the table, and we have to have good answers for that," he said when asked about possible topics of discussion between South Korea and the U.S.

"They are important. They're critical for us to lay out what some of our political constraints are, but also what our ambitions for how we want to continue a strong engagement around standard-setting, technology, innovative commercial ties between us and the region (are)," he added.

bdk@yna.co.kr
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