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| In regard to Seoul's proposal for a declaration to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, Gregg said there have not yet been "real discussions" in the U.S. and a careful approach is needed to figure out implications on the divided peninsula. (Photo from CanKor/ WordPress) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] NEW YORK: The United States should take a more proactive approach to resume talks with North Korea and break the impasse in the Korean peace process as pointed out by Donald Gregg, a former U.S. ambassador to South Korea.
Gregg, who served in the South Korean embassy from 1989 to 1993 and is known for expertise on regional security issues, said the Joe Biden administration is in a more advantageous position than the Kim Jong-un regime and that's why Washington should first reach out to Pyongyang. "I hope the Biden administration will really become more dynamic, take more risks, take more imaginative steps," the 94-year-old retired diplomat said in a recent interview with Yonhap News Agency at his home in Armonk, New York. Gregg, who also worked as a Central Intelligence Agency officer and visited North Korea six times, emphasized the need for efforts to build trust with Pyongyang to kickstart the long-stalled peace process, calling on the Biden administration to become more "confident" and "muscular."
He added Pyongyang may want sanctions relief and good relations with the U.S. in return for giving up its weapons program as the regime clearly knows that its nuclear weapons cannot strike the U.S., which would lead to its demolition by overwhelming military power.
