Sullivan: Comments by North Korea’s Kim an ‘interesting signal’

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday that recent comments made by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in which he urged for the preparation of “both dialogue and confrontation” were an “interesting signal.”

According to a Reuters report, Kim said on Friday that he preparing for both “dialogue and confrontation” with the Biden administration in his first comments of Biden’s presidency.

During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” Sullivan told host George Stephanopoulos that the U.S. is still waiting for direct contact with Pyongyang. 

As North Korean leader Kim Jong-un seemed to express interest in reopening nuclear talks with the U.S., National Sec. adviser Jake Sullivan says “time will tell,” if there will be reengagement. “We are awaiting a clearer signal from Pyongyang.” https://t.co/GukhN3m9Fn pic.twitter.com/FnbyoijX1R

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) June 20, 2021

“We are awaiting a clear signal from Pyongyang as to whether they are prepared to sit down at the table to begin working in that direction,” Sullivan told Stephanopoulos. “His comments this week we regard as an interesting signal. And we will wait to see whether they are followed up with any kind of more direct communication to us about a potential path forward.” 

Sullivan told Stephanopoulos that President Biden wants to begin negotiations with North Korea on denuclearizing the peninsula, which is the administration’s ultimate objective. 

“Well, the clear signal they could send is to say, yes, let’s do it. Let’s sit down and begin negotiations,”  Sullivan said. “We think that just in the case of the Iranian nuclear issue, with the North Korean nuclear issue, there’s no substitute for diplomacy to begin to make progress towards that ultimate objective — the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”