[Correspondent Column] North Korea Nuclear Issue Excluded from Biden's Top Priorities

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] When the transition team of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden presented four top priorities, some North Korea experts in the United States could not hide their surprise. This was because the North Korean nuclear issue was absent from the new U.S. government's top priorities.

The Biden transition team's choices are responding to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), economic recovery, racial equality, and climate change. In a way, this is a natural choice. More than 10 million Americans, accounting for 3% of the entire U.S. population, have experienced infection due to COVID-19, and the economic situation is only showing a precarious recovery.

The anti-racism protests that spread like wildfire after the death of African American George Floyd led to an anti-Donald Trump coalition, which propelled the birth of the Biden administration. The heatwaves and wildfires in the California region placed climate change response at the top of the new U.S. government's agenda.

All issues related to diplomacy and security were excluded. Neither Iran nor China was considered urgent matters for President-elect Biden. So much so that NK News, a U.S. North Korea specialist media outlet, introduced reactions from U.S. North Korea experts expressing concerns that the Biden administration might overlook the importance of the North Korea issue.

Since Biden's main tasks are extremely urgent issues, there is no desire to dispute those choices, but the regret remains that no international message was presented regarding the diplomatic and security issues that collapsed under the Trump administration.

Let's turn the clock back 12 years. In November 2008, amid the global financial crisis, then President-elect Barack Obama mentioned 24 domestic and foreign policy tasks and goals through the 'Obama-Biden Plan,' including policies related to the Korean Peninsula.

At that time, the tasks included that if the U.S. engaged in dialogue, the whole world would unite under U.S. leadership to resolve Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs. There was also a clear explanation that diplomatic policy would be used to achieve the complete and verifiable elimination of North Korea's nuclear weapons program and to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. According to this, it can be seen that the Obama administration's position, which was consistent with 'strategic patience,' was initially different.

The fact that the Obama administration mentioned North Korea and Iran's nuclear issues even amid the urgent situation of the financial crisis means it recognized the importance of the matter. Nevertheless, the Obama administration was hampered by North Korea's successive provocations. Emphasizing only strategic patience, it could not avoid criticism that it merely bought time for nuclear development.

Is this regret over mistakes? Former President Obama reportedly advised then President-elect Trump during a White House meeting that "the biggest problem is North Korea." Of course, since this is a statement attributed to President Trump, it cannot be trusted 100%, but it was perceived as a U.S. message on North Korea. Subsequently, after his inauguration, President Trump emphasized strong U.S. military power in his national agenda and stressed readiness against North Korean nuclear threats.

President-elect Biden, who has served for decades on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, surely understands the urgency of the North Korea issue. However, if North Korea provokes while Biden is absorbed in domestic affairs, there is a possibility that the hard-won U.S. dialogue stance could be completely shaken.

At times like this, the efforts of our government are crucial. Regardless of the direction, the Biden side must be conveyed and persuaded that negotiations with North Korea are absolutely necessary. Efforts made after Chairman Kim Jong-un of North Korea is seen rejoicing and cheering over missile or nuclear test launches are meaningless.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.