After weeks of rising tensions, the U.S. has said it is ready to 'reach out' to North Korea's leadership.
Speaking in Japan today, the Secretary of State John Kerry said the Obama administration is just waiting for the right moment.
The American offer comes even as North Korea rejected South Korea's latest offer of dialogue as a 'crafty trick.'
U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry told reporters in Tokyo that North Korea would find 'ready
partners' in the United States if it began abandoning its nuclear
program.
Japan's foreign minister, Fumio Kishida, also demanded a resolution to a dispute concerning Japanese citizens abducted decades ago by North Korean officials.
The diplomats seemed to point the way for a possible revival of the six-nation talks that have been suspended for four years.
China long pushed has for the process to resume without conditions. But the U.S. and allies South Korea and Japan fear rewarding North Korea for its belligerence and endless repetition of a cycle of tensions and failed talks that have prolonged the crisis.
Kerry's message of openness to
diplomacy was clear, however unlikely the chances appeared that North
Korean leader Kim Jong Un's government would meet the American's
conditions.
'I'm not going to be so stuck in the mud that an opportunity to actually get something done is flagrantly wasted because of a kind of predetermined stubbornness," he told U.S.-based journalists.
'You have to keep your mind open. But fundamentally, the concept is they're going to have to show some kind of good faith here so we're not going to around and around in the same-old, same-old,' he said.
Tensions have run high on the Korean Peninsula for months, with North Korea testing a nuclear device and its intercontinental ballistic missile technology.
The reclusive communist state
hasn't stopped there. It has issued almost daily threats that have
included possible nuclear strikes against the United States. Analysts
and foreign officials say that is still beyond the North Koreans'
capability.
While many threats have been dismissed as bluster, U.S. and South Korean say they believe the North in the coming days may test a mid-range missile designed to reach as far as Guam, the U.S. territory in the Pacific where the Pentagon is deploying a land-based missile-defense system.
Japan is the last stop on a 10-day trip overseas for Kerry, who visited Seoul and Beijing as well in recent days.
In South Korea, he strongly
warned North Korea not to launch a missile and he reaffirmed U.S.
defense of its allies in the region. In China, he secured a public
pledge from Beijing, the lone government with significant influence over
North Korea, to rid the North of nuclear weapons.
Before returning to the United States, Kerry planned a speech on Monday in Japan on the Obama administration's Asia policy.
So far, Republican lawmakers in the U.S. have largely backed the administration's efforts on North Korea.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florda., told CBS' 'Face the Nation' that he was encouraged by Kerry's China visit and that he hoped 'we can get the Chinese to care more about this issue.'
U.S. Sen. John McCain of
Arizona suggested that the U.S. make a counter-threat by using missile
interceptors to hit any North Korean missile that is test-fired.
At each stop along his trip, Kerry stressed that the United States wanted a peaceful resolution of the North Korea situation six decades after a cease-fire ended the Korean War.
But North Korea on Sunday served a reminder of the difficult task ahead. Its Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said the government had no intention of talking with Seoul unless the South abandons its confrontational posture, as the North called it.
Seoul had pressed North Korea
to discuss restarting operations at a joint factory park on the border
and President Park Geun-hye has stressed peace opportunities after
taking power from her more hard-line predecessor, Lee Myung-bak. The
presidency expressed regret with North Korea's rebuttal Sunday.
At a news conference in Tokyo, Kerry stressed that gaining China's commitment to a denuclearized North Korea was no small matter given its historically strong military and economic ties to North Korea.
But he refused to say what the Chinese were offering to do concretely to pressure the North into abiding by some of the conditions it agreed to in a 2005 deal that required it to abandon its nuclear program.
'They have to take some actions,' Kerry said of North Korea. 'How many or how much? I'd have to talk to folks back in Washington about that. But if the Chinese came to us and said, `Look, here's what we have cooking,' I'm not going to tell you I'm shutting the door today to something that's logical and might have a chance of success.'
In remarks to U.S.
journalists, Kerry said that under the right circumstances, he even
would consider making a grand overture to North Korea's leader, such as
an offer of direct talks with the U.S.
'We're prepared to reach out,' he said. Diplomacy, he added, required risk-taking and secrecy such as when President Richard Nixon engaged China in the 1970s or U.S. back-channel talks were able to end the Cuban missile crisis a decade earlier.
Given their proximity and decades of hostility and distrust, Japan and South Korea have the most to fear from the North's unpredictable actions.
Kerry clarified a statement he
made Saturday in Beijing, when he told reporters the U.S. could scale
back its missile-defense posture in the region if North Korea goes
nuclear-free.
It appeared to be a sweetener to coax tougher action from a Chinese government which has eyed the increased U.S. military presence in its backyard warily, but which has done little over the years to snuff out funding and support for North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program.
Kerry said America's basic force posture wasn't up to debate. 'There is no discussion that I know of to change that,' he said.
But he said it was logical that additional missile-defense elements, deployed specifically in response to the Korean threat, could be reversed if that threat no longer existed.
'I was simply making an observation about the rationale for that particular deployment, which is to protect the United States' interests that are directly threatened by North Korea,' he said.
Speaking in Japan today, the Secretary of State John Kerry said the Obama administration is just waiting for the right moment.
The American offer comes even as North Korea rejected South Korea's latest offer of dialogue as a 'crafty trick.'
Ready for talks: U.S. Secretary of Sate John
Kerry, left, speaks as Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida listens
during their joint press conference at Foreign Ministry's Iikura
guesthouse in Tokyo
Japan's foreign minister, Fumio Kishida, also demanded a resolution to a dispute concerning Japanese citizens abducted decades ago by North Korean officials.
The diplomats seemed to point the way for a possible revival of the six-nation talks that have been suspended for four years.
China long pushed has for the process to resume without conditions. But the U.S. and allies South Korea and Japan fear rewarding North Korea for its belligerence and endless repetition of a cycle of tensions and failed talks that have prolonged the crisis.
Demands: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, in
Tokyo on Sunday offered new talks with North Korea to resolve the
increasingly dangerous standoff over its nuclear and missile programs
'I'm not going to be so stuck in the mud that an opportunity to actually get something done is flagrantly wasted because of a kind of predetermined stubbornness," he told U.S.-based journalists.
'You have to keep your mind open. But fundamentally, the concept is they're going to have to show some kind of good faith here so we're not going to around and around in the same-old, same-old,' he said.
Tensions have run high on the Korean Peninsula for months, with North Korea testing a nuclear device and its intercontinental ballistic missile technology.
Asian assistance: US Secretary of State John
Kerry (L) and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida (R) discuss
nuclear tensions on the Korean peninsula after securing vital support
from China to help defuse the weeks-long crisis
While many threats have been dismissed as bluster, U.S. and South Korean say they believe the North in the coming days may test a mid-range missile designed to reach as far as Guam, the U.S. territory in the Pacific where the Pentagon is deploying a land-based missile-defense system.
Japan is the last stop on a 10-day trip overseas for Kerry, who visited Seoul and Beijing as well in recent days.
Nuclear: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un
(pictured centre) has said the regime is planning to carry out a fourth
nuclear test this week
Before returning to the United States, Kerry planned a speech on Monday in Japan on the Obama administration's Asia policy.
So far, Republican lawmakers in the U.S. have largely backed the administration's efforts on North Korea.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florda., told CBS' 'Face the Nation' that he was encouraged by Kerry's China visit and that he hoped 'we can get the Chinese to care more about this issue.'
Serious situation: Senator John McCain said
Sunday that China is the only country that can affect North Korean
behavior in a positive way for the United States.
At each stop along his trip, Kerry stressed that the United States wanted a peaceful resolution of the North Korea situation six decades after a cease-fire ended the Korean War.
But North Korea on Sunday served a reminder of the difficult task ahead. Its Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said the government had no intention of talking with Seoul unless the South abandons its confrontational posture, as the North called it.
Impasse: North Korea's state-run broadcaster
says the government calls South Korea's offer of dialogue a 'crafty
trick'. Pyongyang called the offer an 'empty, meaningless' act aimed at
disguising invasion plans
At a news conference in Tokyo, Kerry stressed that gaining China's commitment to a denuclearized North Korea was no small matter given its historically strong military and economic ties to North Korea.
But he refused to say what the Chinese were offering to do concretely to pressure the North into abiding by some of the conditions it agreed to in a 2005 deal that required it to abandon its nuclear program.
'They have to take some actions,' Kerry said of North Korea. 'How many or how much? I'd have to talk to folks back in Washington about that. But if the Chinese came to us and said, `Look, here's what we have cooking,' I'm not going to tell you I'm shutting the door today to something that's logical and might have a chance of success.'
Unknown entity: Lead by their untested young
leader, Kim Jong Un, North Korea has for weeks threatened a preemptive
nuclear strike against the United States, South Korea and Japan
'We're prepared to reach out,' he said. Diplomacy, he added, required risk-taking and secrecy such as when President Richard Nixon engaged China in the 1970s or U.S. back-channel talks were able to end the Cuban missile crisis a decade earlier.
Given their proximity and decades of hostility and distrust, Japan and South Korea have the most to fear from the North's unpredictable actions.
Impulsive: Intelligence reports suggest North
Korea is planning to test-fire not one but multiple missiles, the latest
provocative act by its unpredictable young leader
It appeared to be a sweetener to coax tougher action from a Chinese government which has eyed the increased U.S. military presence in its backyard warily, but which has done little over the years to snuff out funding and support for North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program.
Kerry said America's basic force posture wasn't up to debate. 'There is no discussion that I know of to change that,' he said.
But he said it was logical that additional missile-defense elements, deployed specifically in response to the Korean threat, could be reversed if that threat no longer existed.
'I was simply making an observation about the rationale for that particular deployment, which is to protect the United States' interests that are directly threatened by North Korea,' he said.