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US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman speaks during a press conference after a meeting with her Indonesian counterpart in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Monday. (Reuters/Yonhap)

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said that the appointment of Sung Kim as the US’ special representative for North Korea signaled the US’s readiness for dialogue with the North. Sherman also expressed her hope that the North would “take us up on that.”

Sherman made the remarks in a teleconference on Wednesday with reporters from the Asia-Pacific region during a visit to Bangkok, Thailand, on the final leg of a tour of Southeast Asia. She was responding to a reporter who’d asked if the US had contacted North Korea to explain the results of its North Korea policy review.

Sherman said the Biden administration had reviewed its North Korea policy through very close deliberations with South Korea, Japan, and global partners and said that the US wanted to engage with the North. She explained that the US would take calibrated action in order to achieve progress toward the ultimate goal of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Sherman noted that Biden had appointed Sung Kim, who also serves as the US’ ambassador to Indonesia, as special representative for North Korea during South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s visit to Washington on May 21.

“This was another signal that we are ready and prepared to have dialogue with the DPRK,” Sherman said, referring to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.

“We hope that they will take us up on that possibility,” she added.

While it’s not clear what “possibility” Sherman was referring to, the context permits the interpretation that she was talking about seeking a diplomatic solution through the resumption of negotiations.

After completing its review of North Korea policy, the Biden administration announced that it plans to adopt a calibrated and pragmatic approach to diplomacy but said it would explain the details after sitting down with the North Koreans.

Sherman’s expression of hope that the North would “take us up on that” seems to suggest, at least indirectly, that North Korea hasn’t yet made a meaningful response to American overtures.

Sherman’s consistent use of the official title “DPRK” throughout the teleconference is also striking. While the Biden administration has used that title in official documents, high-ranking officials have often combined that with references to “North Korea.”

Sherman is regarded as an expert on Korean Peninsula affairs with extensive involvement in North Korea-US relations. She served as coordinator for North Korea policy at the US State Department from 1999 to 2001, during Bill Clinton’s second term as president.

By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter

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