The U.S. Department of State has expressed strong support for Seoul’s aim to seek a path for what it described as “serious and sustained diplomacy” with North Korea.
The department’s spokesperson, Ned Price, unveiled the stance during a press briefing on Monday when asked to comment on President Yoon Suk Yeol offering to improve Pyongyang’s economy in return for denuclearization in his Liberation Day speech.
Price said Washington’s shared goal with Seoul as well as its other allies is the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, adding that the U.S. will continue to work closely with the Yoon administration to this end.
Price’s remarks came after Yoon offered a "bold initiative" to improve the North Korean economy and livelihood of its people should the regime stop developing nuclear weapons and take practical steps toward denuclearization.
The president specifically pledged large-scale food supply programs, support for power generation and transmission infrastructure, agricultural production technology as well as the modernization of ports, airports and health care.