Kim Jong Un Ghosts U.S. as Joe Biden's North Korea Shakeup Looms

There appears to be little immediate hope for a diplomatic thaw between President Joe Biden and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, with Pyongyang reportedly ignoring early administration outreach as the Biden team formulates its North Korea strategy.

Reuters reported this weekend that the North Korean officials have not responded to behind-the-scenes outreach from the Biden administration since the new president was inaugurated in January, citing an unnamed senior administration official.

The report comes ahead of a planned visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to South Korea and Japan, as the Biden administration looks to strengthen traditional American alliances to help contain China and North Korea.

A senior Biden administration official confirmed to Newsweek there had been no active dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea for more than a year, including the end of Trump's time in office.

"To reduce the risks of escalation, we reached out to the North Korean government through several channels starting in mid-February, including in New York," the official said, referring to the North Korean mission to the United Nations.

"To date, we have not received any response from Pyongyang. This follows over a year without active dialogue with North Korea, despite multiple attempts by the U.S. to engage."

Biden has vowed a tougher approach on North Korea than his predecessor, ruling out meeting with Kim and criticizing former President Donald Trump for his efforts to build a close personal relationship with the young dictator.

But Trump's historic summits and gushing comments about his friendship with Kim won the U.S. little. The two leaders agreed a vague goal of denuclearization and sanctions relief at the first summit in Singapore in 2018, but the pledge quickly broke down as working level talks stalled.

Kim has maintained a moratorium on nuclear weapon and intercontinental ballistic missile testing, though has continued testing shorter range weapons to the concern of neighbors including Japan and South Korea. Despite condemnation from his top officials, Trump dismissed such tests and instead focused on the nuclear-ICBM moratorium.

Towards the end of Trump's term, relations settled back into a traditional pattern of stalled talks and aggressive rhetoric from Pyongyang, both towards Washington, D.C. and Seoul.

The Biden administration has to date been guarded in discussions of its North Korea strategy, expressing its desire for Pyongyang's denuclearization but offering no new ideas of how to achieve it. The administration is currently conducting a policy review that is expected to be complete "within the next month or so," Reuters reported last week.

The senior administration official told Newsweek that the policy review on North Korea will include "evaluation of all available options to address the increasing threat posed by North Korea to its neighbors and the broader international community."

"We are continuing to lead a structured and detailed policy process that has integrated a diverse set of voices from throughout the government and incorporated inputs from think tanks and outside experts."

They added that the administration is consulting with "many former government officials involved in North Korea policy, including several from the previous administration."

The administration is also engaging with Japanese and South Korean allies throughout the review process "to solicit input and explore fresh approaches," the official said. "We have listened carefully to their ideas, including through trilateral consultations."

Any diplomatic détente will have to overcome recent belligerent remarks from both sides. On the campaign trail, Biden described Kim as a "thug" and vowed that the "days of cozying up to dictators are over." North Korea has been equally dismissive of Biden, last year calling him a "rabid dog" that needed to be "beaten to death with a stick."

At the recent congress of the ruling Workers' Party, Kim described the U.S. as North Korea's "foremost principal enemy" and vowed to expand the country's nuclear arsenal despite Biden's goal of denuclearization.

Update 3/15/21, 10:22a.m. ET: This article has been updated to include comment from the Biden administration.