Stop Sending Mixed Messages to North Korea

In March 2021, President Joe Biden released the Interim National Security Strategic Guidance. In this guidance, there were few mentions of North Korea, such as the important phrase: “We will empower our diplomats to work to reduce the threat posed by North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile programs.” However, when the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin went on an Asia tour, Blinken stated that the U.S. was looking at “pressure measures” and “diplomatic paths” to deal with North Korea. What should be noted from Blinken’s choice of words is that pressure measures and diplomatic paths seem to be situated on the opposite sides of a spectrum. Rather than demonstrating two choices, Blinken should have gone for one or the other. This prompted North Korea’s official statement to ignore any contact coming from the U.S. “unless the U.S. rolls back its hostile policy towards the DPRK.”

Then, on March 24th, North Korea launched two cruise missiles. The next day, on March 25th, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles for the first time since the inauguration of President Biden. This could be interpreted as a direct response to Blinken and Austin’s visit to Asia. North Korea launching ballistic missiles in time for a new president is nothing out of the ordinary and, frankly, it has been exhibiting the same behavior for a while. It was only a matter of time before it launched the missiles to attract attention from the U.S. North Korea’s tantrum demonstrates an underlying truth of the relationship between the U.S. and North Korea--that the U.S. should refrain from sending mixed messages to North Korea.

On top of sending mixed messages to North Korea, throwing human rights in the mix of denuclearization is never a good idea. I am not ignoring the importance of addressing human rights; I also strongly believe that the atrocity should be stopped properly and in a timely manner. However, I do not see benefits of tackling human rights abuse when the U.S.’s top focus seems to be on denuclearizing North Korea.

So far in the history of the relationship between the U.S. and North Korea, the U.S. has been mentioning human rights in the same context with denuclearization talks. The U.S.’s tactic of killing two birds with one stone does not seem to work with a secluded and stubborn country such as North Korea. Blinken and his visit to South Korea tangle the thread even further. As previously mentioned, he mentioned how to deal with North Korea, but also criticized how the “authoritarian” North Korea “continues to commit systemic and widespread abuses against its own people,” claiming that “we must stand for fundamental rights and freedoms and against those who oppress it.” Criticizing North Korea’s human rights while the core focus is denuclearization is one form of mixed messages as it detracts focus away from denuclearization. This could also serve as a wrong motivator to cause North Korea to provoke the U.S. even more.

North Korea’s launch of ballistic missiles certainly caught the U.S.’s attention as intended. President Biden announced that North Korea is his “top foreign policy issue” and he is open to diplomacy yet warned there will be responses if North Korea keeps up with the act of provocation. President Biden should not put North Korea on the back burner like former President Obama. President Obama’s so-called strategic patience policy towards North Korea did not produce any tangible results but created more confusion and entered a stagnated reality with North Korea. Mixed messages only worsen the already deepened chasm between the U.S. and North Korea, and ultimately it will lead to more instability in the region. If President Biden is going for engagement, then it is wise for him and his administration to only convey messages that are engagement related. On the other hand, if he is planning for more sanctions, he should refrain from using vocabulary that could be indicative of engagement.

The current realm that President Biden navigates with North Korea is unknown. Before the relation becomes even more stagnant, President Biden should keep his words in considering North Korea his first priority and plan accordingly. Rather than leaving North Korea as a “top foreign policy issue” as President Biden mentioned, it is high time that he actually materializes words into actions to show how North Korea is his top foreign policy priority.