London, United Kingdon. While the Trump administration is headed for a confrontation by design with North Korea over it’s nuclear weapons program, another American political leader with a long history of dialog with the hermit regime, advises a more moderate approach of carrot and stick diplomacy.
President Donald Trump should offer North Korea a deal including energy assistance, lifting of sanctions and humanitarian support, according to a former US ambassador to the United Nations who has spent years negotiating with North Korean officials.
Speaking on the BBC Today program, former US ambassador Bill Richardson called for a “multi-party deal” including Japan, South Korea and China, with North Korea offered assistance in return for a moratorium on their escalating nuclear programme.
North Korea had a failed missile test on Sunday, when an unidentified projectile exploded moments after being launched in an eastern port city, came in defiance of US President Donald Trump’s demands for the country to halt its nuclear operations.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said military action is “an option”, while an unnamed official told Bloomberg that President Trump was prepared to consider offensive military action, though his strong preference was for China to take a lead in negotiations.
And Mr Richardson, who has secured the release of Americans detained in Korea across eight formal and informal diplomatic visits to North Korea, also suggested that China would be key as he urged peaceful negotiations rather than military action.
Asked why he thought a shift in Chinese policy would only have limited impact, he continued: “It’s going to take a deal between the US and North Korea to bring the missile tests to an end.” Richardson added, “Perhaps a moratorium, involving South Korea, Japan, a multi-party deal that in exchange for a moratorium North Korea might get some energy assistance, maybe lifting of sanctions, and some humanitarian assistance.”